BEECH GROVE, Ind. -- Charges have not been filed in a fight between two women at a Beech Grove Wal-Mart that was captured on cellphone video.
The video shows 34-year-old Amber Stephenson and 39-year-old Rebecca Mills fighting while a 6-year-old child watches nearby and is even encouraged to get involved. The video was uploaded to YouTube and had already been watched more than 1.5 million times by Tuesday morning. You can watch video of the fight in the player above.
Officers with the Beech Grove Police Department said they were called to the store minutes after the fight broke out last Thursday just after 10 p.m. The video of the fight surfaced on YouTube Monday.
The incident appears to start with a verbal argument that quickly escalates into a physical altercation.
The video shows Stephenson telling the child to punch the other woman in the face. The child can be seen hitting the woman and throwing items at her that he takes from the store shelves.
A Wal-Mart spokesman said store management called police about one minute and thirty seconds after the fight started. He said it is the store’s policy for associates not to engage in fights.
"This type of behavior inside one of our stores is completely unacceptable and we are notifying the individuals involved that they are no longer welcome on Wal-Mart property. Once we were aware of this situation, a member of our management immediately called the police and we are continuing to work with them on this matter," said spokesman Aaron Mullins.
Police said no arrests were made because officers did not have immediate access to the store's surveillance video and both women told conflicting stories.
It is now up to prosecutors to determine what, if any, charges will be filed in the case.
A third-party security company was in the store at the time of the incident, but was on the other side of the store when the fight broke out.
The Smiley Morning Show says they spoke with Stephenson on Tuesday morning. She told them she overheard Mills yell a racial slur when interacting with a store employee. That is when she jumped in with a few words of her own.
Stephenson said her son has taken martial arts classes and spent years in the gym with his dad.
"He's a little crazy kid. I mean, he's just one that I don't ever have to worry about him being bullied in high school," Stephenson said on the radio. "My son is a straight-A student, he's been on the honor roll all year, his kindergarten year, he is the teacher's pet. He's in a Christian private school. My son is raised perfectly right."
You can hear the interview by clicking the play button below:
Pediatric social worker Mandy Grella warned violence often leaves an imprint on children.
"I think based on the child's reaction in the video, there's pretty good potential that there could be some problems there, some underlying issues and that maybe this type of behavior has been normalized," Grella said.
Grella also discussed the bystander effect that appears to take place in the video as several people stop and watch without intervening.
One bystander can be seen telling the 6-year-old boy to stop, but then questions whether he should break up the fight.
Attorney Jack Crawford said while you might want to help, the best thing a bystander can do is to stay back.
"Everybody wants to be a good Samaritan when they see somebody being injured in a struggle, and you want to intervene and protect the party that appears to be losing. Once you take it upon yourself to involve yourself in this fight, then you have civil liability for any injuries received either by the victim or by the attacker," Crawford explained.
