Video allegedly shows father instructing 6-year-old daughter to hit student on school bus

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. (KMOV/Gray News) - A Missouri father is facing charges after police say he forced his 6-year-old daughter to beat up another child on a school bus.

The Ferguson Police Department has released surveillance video that they say shows Maurice Fox instructing his 6-year-old daughter to punch another student on the school bus.

“This incident is disturbing and completely unacceptable,” said Ferguson Police Chief Troy Doyle.

The attack happened Thursday morning on a Ferguson-Florissant School District bus. Court documents say Fox pushed his way onto the bus with his daughter then told her to punch a 7-year-old girl in the head repeatedly.

“Do what I told you to do,” he allegedly said.

When Fox’s daughter stopped the attack, police say he told her “again,” and she went back to punching the girl.

“I want her crying. Again,” he allegedly told his daughter, according to court documents.

Fox has an arrest warrant for one count of first-degree harassment, two counts of assault in the fourth-degree and trespassing on a school bus. He is not currently in police custody.

KMOV found a GoFundMe that Fox made for his legal fees. In the description, he mentions that his daughter was being bullied.

“Don’t put your hands on my daughter no more,” Fox can be heard saying in the surveillance video.

Doyle urged Fox to contact the police department, so he could give investigators “his account of the incident.”

“We have made several attempts to contact the parent, but he has avoided all efforts to speak with our detectives,” Doyle said. “However, he has found the time to create a GoFundMe account seeking donations for his legal defense. You cannot crowdsource accountability.”

The school district says it is aware of the incident and cooperating with law enforcement.

“Student and staff safety is always our top priority, and we will not tolerate anything that compromises their safety. School buses are an extension of the school campus. Trespassing on a school bus and engaging in the behavior described in this incident are completely unacceptable,” the district wrote in a statement.