Nationwide — Kiera Harps, a 14-year-old African American teen from Atlanta, Georgia, was hospitalized after she was allegedly beaten with a golf club during a fight near her bus stop in the nearby town of Newnan. The attack left her with injuries that required staples in her head. Police arrested two teenage sisters and their mother in connection with the incident, and all three face aggravated assault charges.
The fight reportedly began after Kiera was allegedly bullied online by the two teenage sisters, who are 15 and 16 and ride the same school bus. Kiera’s older sister, Jasmine Osirio, said she went to the bus stop Monday afternoon to speak with the girls’ mother and try to address the situation. However, the conversation quickly turned into a physical confrontation. “So, I’m trying to talk to the mother, but she just wouldn’t talk to me back. So, after that, it just broke loose,” Osirio told WALB.
Osirio later shared cellphone video that appears to show part of the fight. In the footage, the 16-year-old allegedly strikes Kiera with a golf club. Police said the girls’ mother, 36-year-old Curtisia Anya Heath, gave them the weapon. The video also appears to show other people punching and pulling each other to the ground. Osirio said she was also hit with the golf club while trying to intervene.
Kiera was left bleeding and later lost consciousness during the fight, according to her sister. “She was bleeding. Then, she hyperventilated and passed out,” Osirio said. Kiera was taken to a hospital, where she received treatment and needed staples in her head. She has since been released and is recovering at home with her family.
Her mother, Syrite Harps, said she feared her daughter had died when she learned that Kiera was lying on the ground and not responding. She said the family wants the people involved to face consequences. “For me, just seeing them get punished for what they did, (and) I want justice,” Harps said. “I feel like ya’ll tried to kill my daughter. That’s what went through my mind. She was laid on the ground. She was passed out, couldn’t get no response from her. She wasn’t moving. I thought she was dead.”
Newnan police arrested Heath and both of her daughters following the incident. The two teenagers were taken to a regional youth detention facility, while Heath was booked into the Coweta County Jail. All three were charged with aggravated assault. A GoFundMe campaign has also been created to help Kiera’s family with expenses following the attack.