A Baltimore mom is being hailed as a hero after she smacked her rioting son and dragged him home from Monday night's chaos in a scene that was captured on live television and soon shared all over social media.
The scene was captured by ABC affiliate WMAR-TV and highlighted by Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts at a press conference shortly before midnight.
Don’t disappoint momma! A suspected rioter in Baltimore gets the smackdown of his life - a beating from his own mom on live TV.The mother saw her son on television throwing rocks at police. That’s when she’d had enough, dishing up a dose of discipline he won’t soon forget.The motherly melee going viral tonight – At 11 from ABC7 Eyewitness News. abc7.la/1A9gqGd
Posted by ABC7 on Monday, April 27, 2015
"You had a mother who grabbed a child who had a hood on his head and started smacking him on the head because she was so embarrassed," he said. "I wish there were more parents out there who took charge of their kids tonight. Take control of your kids. This is our city, let’s make a difference."
While city police sent out messages in the media and on Twitter asking parents to locate and take their children home just a few hours later, this mother clearly didn't need to be told anything.
ABC News reported that the mother saw her son dressed in all black, throwing rocks at the cops. That's when she lost it, and began grabbing and hitting her son to set him straight.
According to CNN, all told, rioters set more than 150 vehicle and structure fires in Baltimore Monday night, and roughly 200 got arrested.
Many who saw the motherly smackdown video online called the unidentified woman the "Mother of the Year."