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Parent walks onto bus and hits 9-year-old boy, police say

NEW ORLEANS — A parent boarded a school bus and hit a 9-year-old boy who had hit her son, police said.

Patrice Henry walked onto a bus for NOLA Charter Schools on Feb. 4 after the school called and said her kindergarten-aged son had been hit in the face, KLFY reported.

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Henry got on the bus and asked, “Who hit my son?” Then she walked over to the boy the children were pointing toward, police said.

Henry then put her arms around the boy’s neck and punched him, police said.

"You took matters into your own hands and decided to beat on my 9-year-old son," Ashley Batiste, the boy's mother, told KLFY. "He was scared for his life, so he tried to fight back."
Henry was charged with simple battery, KLFY reported.

Batiste feels the bus driver should also be held accountable.

"(Because) she didn't do anything -- a parent was able to get on the bus and beat my child," Batiste told KLFY.

The school told KLFY student safety is a priority and it is working with police investigators. The school bus company said it has suspended the driver pending the outcome of the investigation, KLFY reported.