MESA, AZ -- Police arrested a Mesa woman after she allegedly helped her daughter beat up another girl earlier this week.
Mesa Police Det. Mike Melendez said 36-year-old Shannon Delahousie allegedly threw a 10-year-old girl into the side of a bus when she found her and her 10-year-old daughter fighting at a bus stop around noon on Wednesday.
"You would hope and expect that adults would act differently," Melendez said. "That in a situation like this, they would lead by example and explain why you shouldn't be fighting instead of instigating the fight."
Police records also show the woman and her daughter followed the girl to their apartment complex, near Guadalupe and Ellsworth roads, where they both live.
Delahousie and her daughter were reportedly yelling at the girl and taunting her, police said. She then allegedly had her son and another boy hold the victim as they began hitting her some more.
The woman then took her daughter's hand and had her also hit the other girl, records show.
Neighbors told ABC15 that this is a big misunderstanding. They said the two girls have had problems for a while and that the mother did not beat up the girl.
"All Shannon was doing was trying to break up the fight," said Barbara Dezso, a friend of Delahousie. "That's not who Shannon is -- she's a good mom. "
However, students who witnessed the melee say differently.
"The mom came at the one girl, grabbed her hair and then threw her into the side of the bus," said one 13-year-old boy.
When asked if it looked like Delahousie tried to hurt the victim, he said, "Yes."
Police said the victim was roughed up but not seriously injured.
Delahousie faces two felony aggravated assault charges.
