21-year-old suspect arrested for attacking 13-year-old girl on school bus

KTVT

By Robbie Owens

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DENTON, Texas (KTVT) – Denton police have arrested a woman who was allegedly caught on camera attacking a teenager on a school bus last month.

Traveonna Mays, 21, turned herself in at the Denton City Jail Thursday morning after police issued a warrant for her arrest on a charge of injury to a child, a third-degree felony. A Denton County judge set bail at $7,500.

Denton police described Mays as “the sister of a party involved in the incident.”

According to the victim, a 13-year-old girl, another girl at Bettye Myers Middle School had threatened her earlier in the day. She says she didn’t know the girl and alerted both a counselor and an assistant principal to the threats.

Later that day, she said the girl attacked her on the school bus. At some point, a cell phone video shows two adult women boarding the bus.

The victim, who we are calling “Nicole” to protect her identity, says she later learned that the women were the mother and sister of the girl who attacked her.

Nicole says the women followed the school bus to their stop and attacked her again. Another cell phone video shows the bus driver driving away while Nicole is punched and kicked on the ground behind him.

The victim’s mother told CBS News Texas that she was pleased to hear of the arrest, but that she and her daughter wanted “both women arrested.”

“I could be a parent planning funeral arrangements if they had a gun and got on a bus with a knife or a gun,” she said last week.

Denton school officials responded to CBS News Texas with a statement that said in part: “This horrific video shows unacceptable behavior that Denton ISD never tolerates, including an adult unlawfully boarding a school bus.”

The district said both women have been “prosecuted” and are no longer allowed on Denton ISD school grounds. Additionally, the school bus driver received additional training and the student who initiated the attack will not return to campus.

Nicole, who says she wants to be a teacher one day, said that after she spoke out, she returned to campus and faced additional harassment from students who called her out because of her efforts to encourage the women to be held accountable as a “snitch” and a “rat”.

“I wish that for anyone who saw the video and thinks it was okay to hurt me. I want you to know that you are wrong, because you are not,” she said.

District officials now say they are taking special precautions to ensure Nicole feels safe at school for the rest of the year. She is allowed to leave a classroom or hallway and come into the office at any time to remove herself from any situation that makes her feel uncomfortable.

Her mother acknowledged the support but says both she and her daughter want a fresh start. She says she can’t afford to move right now and eventually gave in to the suggestion of starting a GoFundMe campaign to raise enough money to move closer to family.

“When I saw the videos, I saw grown women hitting my child and abusing my child in that way,” she said, fighting back tears. “It was heartbreaking… because what normal adult human being fights a child?”

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