Police have arrested a Georgia father after video of him allegedly abusing his young son went viral. James Collins, 44, was reportedly at a Kroger in Gwinnett County on August 7 with his 3-year-old son. A witness began filming Collins' aggressive parenting and shared the video online. It caught the attention of Gwinnett County police, who began a search for the father.
Collins was arrested on August 10 and charged with child cruelty. He was released a few hours later. The incident reportedly appalled witnesses, who hoped the child was safe.
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The father and son appeared to be leaving the store.
In the video posted on TikTok, the father has a cart full of groceries, and the child is inside of the truck. It appears Collins is upset with the boy and yells at him.
"Didn't I say shut up? You ain't getting no d— car. Shut up. Boy, I said shut your a–up," the man yells as he repeatedly strikes the child.
He also told the child to stop having "potty" accidents on himself.
A passerby tried to help.
During the alleged attack, a woman stopped to try to help the child. Collins dismisses her and says, "Mind your d— business, lady," adding, "I'll raise my d— child the way I want to."
The video went viral, and TikToker @TizzyEnt got involved. His stitch alone had more than 315,000 views, and people were devastated by what they saw.
People were shocked by the father's behavior.
Fox 5 spoke with Kroger shoppers about the video. Amanda Martin said she couldn't believe what she saw.
"It was completely heartbreaking. I can't imagine a parent getting that upset with a child and everybody around them trying to intervene," Martin said. "You never want to put yourself in danger, but obviously they were afraid for the child, and after watching it, I'm afraid for the child."
Lizz Shaw agreed and said, "He should be locked up because that's really hurtful. When I saw the video it really got to me."
Police arrested the father.
Collins was taken to Gwinnett County Jail and charged with child cruelty. Gwinnett County police announced his arrest on Facebook, writing, "Detectives located Collins at his residence and placed him under arrest a short time later. The child had minor injuries and is being cared for by family members. The Department of Family and Child Services was also notified."
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The police received mixed reactions online to the timing of the arrest.
According to some people in the comment section, police were allegedly notified about the incident on August 7 but the father wasn't pursued until the video went viral.
One person wrote on the Gwinnett Police Facebook page, "Thank you TizzyEnt, the wonderful and brave woman to stand up for that toddler and for the one who recorded the video and BLEW IT UP!!!"
Another person agreed, commenting, "It's sad it took a video being shared thousands of times for you to take it seriously."
Others thanked police for finding the suspect and arresting him. "This is what happens when social media is put to good use. I seen the video last night. Thank you Gwinnett County Police," someone wrote.
If you suspect child abuse, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (1-800-4-A-Child) or go to Childhelp.org. The hotline is available 24/7.
