Some parents look for other ways to discipline their children besides spanking, but what this dad did instead went way too far.
On the night of September 16, a terrified six-year-old ran screaming outside of her apartment in Youngstown, Ohio. Her father, 25-year-old Vernon Barrett Jr., had reportedly been trying to punish her for acting out in school and at home. He later told police that he couldn’t spank his daughter because her mother went to jail for stepping on the girl and breaking her ribs, so he thought giving her a dose of fear would work. However, his “prank” ended with one neighbor calling the cops and another firing his gun.
After putting on a clown mask, Barrett Jr. chased his little girl, who didn’t know it was him, outside of their apartment. First, she ran to a female stranger’s car and jumped in, where he pulled her out shortly after. That’s when the woman called 9-1-1.
Before officers arrived, the girl then ran into 48-year-old Dion Santiago’s unlocked apartment and asked if she could stay there because a clown was chasing her. According to responding officer Joseph O’Grady, Santiago fired a shot out of his window to scare Barrett Jr. off.
The two men were arguing when police got there and arrested them, but thankfully, nobody was hurt. Barrett Jr. was charged with child endangerment and inducing panic, while Santiago was charged with using weapons while intoxicated.
Learn more about this story in the video below.
https://up.anv.bz/latest/anvload.html?key=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
(via The Washington Post and WKBN)