Authorities say two young children witnessed the Georgia confrontation before the 21-year-old suspect drove away with them.
ACWORTH, Ga. — A 21-year-old Wisconsin woman accused of stabbing her mother at least 10 times during a confrontation in a Georgia Chick-fil-A parking lot is now facing two child cruelty charges in addition to an aggravated assault charge, authorities said.
Shyanniah Ma’Ree Johnson of Milwaukee was arrested following the Aug. 20 incident at a Chick-fil-A off Highway 92 near Interstate 75 in Cherokee County. The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office said Johnson and her 39-year-old mother had been traveling north toward Wisconsin with two young children when an argument began inside their vehicle. The dispute continued after they left the interstate and stopped at the restaurant, where investigators allege Johnson assaulted her mother. The children were not physically injured.
The confrontation occurred at about 2:30 p.m., according to local reports citing the sheriff’s office. Authorities said the argument escalated while Johnson, her mother and the children were still inside the vehicle. Investigators allege Johnson’s mother suffered at least 10 stab wounds during the altercation. Johnson also suffered an injury to her leg. Authorities have not publicly released a detailed account of what caused the argument or identified a motive beyond the dispute between the two women.
After the confrontation, the injured mother ran inside the Chick-fil-A seeking help, authorities said. Off-duty Acworth police officers who were inside the restaurant responded and provided emergency aid until an ambulance arrived. Officer Makayla Grimes later told WSB-TV that she and another officer worked to control the woman’s bleeding before medical personnel reached the scene. The victim was taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital and has since been released, according to the sheriff’s office.
Investigators said Johnson left the parking lot with the two children in the vehicle and headed north on Interstate 75. Law enforcement agencies used automated license plate reader information to locate the vehicle in Whitfield County, north of Cherokee County. Officers stopped Johnson there, and she was taken to Hamilton Medical Center in Dalton for treatment of the leg injury she suffered during the confrontation. The children were found unharmed and were placed in the custody of the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services.
The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office initially announced that Johnson had been charged with aggravated assault under Georgia’s Family Violence Act. Authorities have since added two counts of child cruelty after investigators determined that the children were present during the alleged assault. Capt. Jay Baker of the sheriff’s office told People that the children allegedly witnessed the confrontation. Officials have not publicly identified the children, and their custodial situation remains under investigation.
Johnson was released from the hospital Friday afternoon and booked into the Cherokee County jail, according to an updated account from the sheriff’s office provided to People. She remained jailed Monday on a $3,000 bond and had not yet been arraigned, the publication reported. The charges are accusations, and Johnson has not been convicted of a crime.
The victim’s name has not been publicly released by authorities. Deputies have identified her only as Johnson’s 39-year-old mother, also from Milwaukee. Local authorities said she had been traveling with Johnson and the children when the dispute began on Interstate 75. Investigators have not announced whether anyone else participated in the confrontation or whether additional evidence from inside the vehicle will lead to further charges.
The Chick-fil-A closed for the remainder of Thursday after the incident and reopened Friday morning, WSB-TV reported. The confrontation drew a large law enforcement and emergency response to the busy restaurant area near Highway 92 and Interstate 75. Authorities credited the officers who happened to be inside the restaurant with quickly providing medical care to the injured woman before paramedics arrived.
The investigation remains open. Authorities previously said additional charges were possible, and the subsequent child cruelty counts marked the first publicly reported expansion of the case. Johnson remains accused of aggravated assault under the Family Violence Act and two counts of child cruelty as the criminal case moves forward in Cherokee County.