The Missouri mother who is suing a day care center in St. Louis for making children allegedly fight one another in a "fight club" said authorities wanted to speak to her again after a video grabbed worldwide attention this week.
The St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office told KPLR on Thursday that it was reopening the investigation into two teachers at the Adventure Learning Center in St. Louis in December 2016 who allegedly made children fight one another. Newsweek reached out to the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office for comment on the case but did not hear back in time for publication.
The video, obtained by KPLR, shows teachers placing "Hulk Hands" on the children and encouraged them to fight. The video was recorded by a 10-year-old's iPad, according to KPLR.
The teachers were fired but they were never prosecuted, according to the news station. Nicole Merseal, who is suing the day care for her son's injuries, previously told KCPQ that her son was involved in one of the fights.
"He [her child in the video] doesn't understand why his friends were fighting him—why he was beaten up by his best friends. And it was on his fourth birthday," Merseal told the news station. "I want them to be held accountable, and I don't want this to happen to any other child."
Following the release of the video, Merseal told KPLR that she never thought it would receive this much attention, but is glad it did.
"It makes me happy," Merseal told the news station. "That's exactly what we were hoping."
Merseal told the news station a prosecutor wanted to speak to her and was also contacted by the Missouri Department of Social Services, which also reopened its investigation into child endangerment, according to KPLR.
"They're wanting to speak to me and interview my children again and take a second look at the case," she told the news station.
The video garnered so much attention that an online petition was started to reopen the investigation. Over 9,000 people have signed a Care2 petition asking for criminal charges against the school.
"The teachers have been fired and the daycare has implemented better training for teachers, but that is not enough. These teachers should have known better," the petition read.
Another video surfaced on social media of teen's brawling at a high school in St. Louis on Monday. Authorities said the fight broke out on Monday morning at Oakville High School after a staff member tried to break up a fight between three students, KTVI reported. The video was posted to Snapchat and has over 1,000 views, according to the news station. The letter that was sent out to parents said that the Mehlville School District was investigating the incident.
