Mother charged with child abuse after video shows her cheering daughter, 16, as she fights another girl

A mother has been charged with child abuse after encouraging her teenager daughter to fight another girl as dozens of classmates videotaped the incident. April Newcomb could be heard encouraging her 16-year-old daughter to trade punches with the other girl. And when her daughter appears to ease up from the exertion of grappling on the ground she yells:" Don't f****** stop!". The video of the fight in a field in Palmetto, Florida, was posted online and led to a police investigation and Newcomb's arrest.

Newcomb, 39, admitted to police that she had been wrong to encourage her daughter, but said the fight was going to take place no matter what she said. 'Of course, we're both wrong and I understand that, and I understand where y'all are coming from,' she told police. 'I think unfortunately it was going to happen, no matter what.' The fight took place a week ago after Newcomb's daughter, who has not been named, and another girl agreed to settle their differences after school. Video footage showed the two girls throwing punches, pulling hair and knocking each other to the ground.



As the two brawled, dozens of students can be seen gathered around, many recording the incident on their phones. Newcomb can be heard on the video shouting words of encouragement as the fight went on. A person videotaping the fight can also be heard to shout, 'Go for the headshot. The headshot.' The fight, which lasted for five minutes, ends when police arrive and the teenagers scatter.

'The entire incident is disturbing, especially because the parent did not intervene,' said police spokesman Dave Bristow. Newcomb was being held in jail after failing to raise the £10,000 bond to secure her release. She claimed the fight had already started when she arrived and she wanted to make sure her daughter was not seriously hurt.