GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA: An apartment complex manager has been arrested after a video came to light, showing her hitting and pouring soda on a boy utilizing the pool on the premises.
Kim Jennings, 62, a resident of Greensboro, North Carolina, was apprehended by law enforcement on August 3, after an assault was reported from the Sedgefield Garden Apartments, per the Daily Mail.
Who is Kim Jennings?
The viral video showed Jennings pouring soda on 11-year-old Jace Lee-Eury and hitting him several times with the bottle near the residents-only pool.
The incident led to her being charged with two counts of assault on a child under the age of 12. Lee-Eury told the local media Jennings also pulled his younger sister's hair during the incident.
Jennings told WFMY, "I had a soda in my hand, and I tossed it on him, and then I popped him. I did, I admit I did, and it was wrong."
Jennings claimed that she was frustrated as the children kept coming back despite being told not to.
"When you've done it and you've done it and you've done it and you've asked him not to come back. I just reacted. But, I will say that I'm sorry that I did that," she reportedly said.
The police obtained an arrest warrant after confirming an assault had happened when they spoke to the affected children and their parents.
Opposite to what Jennings claimed, Lee-Eury alleged, "She said not to come back this time. The other time she never said not to come back, so that's why we kept going."
'This is child abuse'
Lee-Eury's parents acknowledged Jennings' prior warnings but disagreed with her approach. The boy's mother, Joella Lee, said, "This is child abuse."
Lee-Eury's family has sought legal aid from notable attorneys, including Ben Crump and Jason L Keith.
Crump tweeted after the incident, "A white apartment manager in Greensboro, NC, shockingly hit and poured soda on two Black adolescents using the complex’s pool. She has been arrested on two counts of simple assault — now she must be fully held accountable for her attack on these kids!"
Jennings' court date has been scheduled for September in Greensboro. She claimed the complex's residents expressed their support for her after the incident. Some of the residents called the children's disregard for her requests "disrespectful."
After the incident, a shed in the complex was vandalized. Jennings said she would file a police report regarding the incident.
