Texas parents their 4yo had gotten into a daycare fight. Then they saw why his lawyer called the place a “child fight club”

A shocking surveillance video has sparked a major legal battle in Fort Worth, Texas, after a mother uncovered what an attorney described as an adult-led “child fight club” inside a local childcare facility.

Heather Harris has filed a lawsuit against Arka Montessori Academy of Risinger following an April 2026 incident in which a daycare employee allegedly assaulted her four-year-old son and encouraged another child to attack him.

The situation came to light on April 27, when Harris made an unannounced visit to the daycare during afternoon pickup. When she arrived, she found her young son crying hysterically.

The lawsuit claims an employee held one boy down as another attacked him

When Harris questioned the staff, daycare employees initially downplayed the incident, claiming the four-year-old had gotten into a minor scuffle with another boy and that staff members had quickly separated them. Unsatisfied with the explanation, Harris demanded to review the facility’s security footage.

What she saw reportedly told a very different story and now forms the basis of the family’s lawsuit.

According to The Button Law Firm, which represents the Harris family, the incident happened late in the afternoon after the boy’s regular teacher had finished her shift and he was moved to another classroom.

While the main teacher had her back turned, another child struck the four-year-old. Shortly afterward, a second daycare employee entered the room to provide relief coverage. The employee was the biological mother of the child who had started the conflict.

The lawsuit alleges that instead of separating the children, the incoming caregiver escalated the situation. According to the law firm’s account of the footage, the employee grabbed the four-year-old, shook him, yelled in his face, and shoved him downward.

The confrontation reportedly continued even after the main teacher turned around. The lawsuit describes the employee holding the Harris boy down while encouraging her own son to hit and kick him.

The footage allegedly ends with the employee pulling the boy’s legs out from under him while holding him by one arm, slamming him onto the classroom floor.

“This place looked like a child fight club,” family attorney Russell Button told Fox News, describing an adult in a position of trust allegedly orchestrating violence against a vulnerable child.

Following the incident, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission launched a state investigation. According to the state’s case file, daycare administrators were already aware of concerns about the employee’s behavior, including anger issues and aggressive conduct around young children.

One administrator said she had previously heard the caregiver screaming at children from across the facility while sitting in the front office. The issue had reportedly been addressed multiple times. Other staff members also reported seeing the caregiver grab children roughly by their upper arms and force them into chairs.

The current status

The four-year-old was reportedly left with both physical and emotional injuries. The lawsuit states that he suffered bruises, scratches, localized pain, and severe headaches. His parents also reported severe separation anxiety and a fear of entering new daycare environments.

Despite the state’s findings, Arka Montessori Academy of Risinger remains operational. A later state inspection on Aug. 20, 2026, recorded zero deficiencies at the facility.

As of the time of the public broadcast, no criminal charges had been finalized against the former employee, and daycare management had not responded to requests for comment regarding the active civil lawsuit.