A mom has taken to Facebook to say that she is proud of her six-year-old son for punching his school bully, but not all parents agree.

Laura Mazza, 33, explained on the social networking site that her son got into trouble at school for punching another child.

She explained that this was completely out of character for her son who she describes as "sweet by nature".

That's why she thought that he must have had a good reason for harming the other child, and it soon transpired that he was being bullied and didn't think that his teacher would do anything to stop it.

She wrote on Facebook: "My son punched another kid today. He told me he had to do yard duty.

"I kept probing him why and he didn't want to say, he told me I wouldn't believe him."

Laura added: "He said the teacher didn't believe him because the kid always pretends to be hurt. So I told him, if you tell me the truth, you won't get into trouble. And he did.

"He told me that another boy was picking on him, and when he told him to stop, he pushed him off the playground, then ran away."

It was at this point that Laura, from Melbourne, Australia, asked her son: "Okay, so what did you do?"

She detailed: "He said 'I chased him and punched him in the face so he knows never to bully me again. I knew the teacher wouldn't do anything so I had to stop him from bullying me'.

"I didn't say much, just thanked him for being honest and talked about different ways of handling it without violence.

"But was I proud? Yeah a little bit. I know violence isn't the answer but I know when it comes to bullies you gotta stand up to them."

Laura continued: "I'm glad he did. I'm sad I wasn't there to protect him and that he was let down by adults.

"But I'm glad he stood up for himself, because as an adult that's still one of the hardest things to do.

"I want my kids to know that the bad guy doesn't win."

Laura's post did not go unnoticed on the social media website, and at the time of writing, it has received over 3.8K reactions and over 800 comments.

However, not everyone agreed that Laura had done the right thing.

One Facebook user wrote: "Sorry but am I the only one that feels like you've just accepted that violence is the answer."

A second added: "You need to speak to the principal and get it all out there to really resolve this not only so your son knows you have his back but for other kids at that school.

"They need to address why he felt the teachers wouldn't [sic] do anything and the fact there was bullying leading up to the event so the other child can be dealt with too."

However, the majority of Facebook users were in agreement that Laura and her son did the right thing.

Another commenter wrote: "My kids have full permission to rock any kids s**t who won't listen to words and won't physically leave them alone. Consent matters, no means no."

A second added: "Take your kid for ice cream; he has earned it. If the adults around him failed him and he knew he could face consequences and still chose to stand up for himself.... you, my dear are raising a fearless leader."

What do you think? Did Laura and her son do the right thing?

We've seen some shocking stories about bullying recently, from the 15-year-old disabled student who was violently assaulted to the 10-year-old girl who had to be put on suicide watch thanks to a cruel Instagram poll. Some bullies don't just give out the occasional wedgie or "stack" your locker so the books fall out when you open the door. They inflict physical and mental damage that has tragic consequences: One nine-year-old boy was bullied for being gay, and took his own life.

However, three teenagers in Independence, Missouri took bullying to a new level of vile. In a viral video posted to Facebook, they verbally and physically harass a young boy. The footage shows the boy on his knees, and the bullies yelling, "Kiss my feet!" They call him racial slurs - the N-word, despite the fact the boy appears to be white. Then, one of the bullies pulls out a gun and points it at the boy's head. After a horrifying, tense moment, he pulls the gun away, and another bully starts punching the boy.

To see the shocking incident for yourself, check out the video below: 

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Last Saturday, Emily Bridges noticed that her 13-year-old son came home with bruises. However, she didn't discover what happened until her other son showed her a video of the altercation. "I was hurt," Bridges told FOX 4 KC. "I was angry. I was crying. I was mad. I was upset because he didn’t defend himself." She added that her son is on the autism spectrum, and after the assault, the bullies stole his money.

On Monday, the mother went to the Independence Police Department to report the incident. However, the officer she spoke to did not appear to be concerned. "He just really said that they're minors," said Bridges. "There's not a lot that happens to them." (Yeah, just some teenagers aiming a gun at the head of a 13-year-old boy. No biggie. What the hell, independence?) But the outraged mom didn't give up. On Tuesday, she returned to the police department and demanded someone take responsibility.

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Taking to Facebook to share the video of the incident, the understandably furious mother wrote:

"CALLING ALL PARENTS, FRIENDS, FAMILY N AMERICAN CITIZENS.. this is my 13 yr old nephew being bullied at gunpoint in broad daylight... his mother took this video to the independence, mo. police n they have refused to do anything.. October is bullying prevention month n this is what we get from our "Law enforcement"... protect and serve who exactly.. share this w everyone n every media outlet till we get justice... derrin is a sweet kid with disabilities n did not deserve to be treated this way, threatened or to be dismissed by authorities.. this is a direct threat n violation to his safety n human rights... n something must be done!!!! [sic]
#JusticeForDerrin"

On Tuesday, 17-year-old Alexander Schrader turned himself into authorities. Two other juvenile suspects were brought into custody, but since they are minors, their names were not released.

This is the moment one angry dad decided to teach his daughter's bullies a lesson himself: 

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Bridges thanked the community for their support, saying, "I hope the other kids see this and see that those actions and those behaviors are not OK." Well, she's certainly reached a big audience: The viral video has been viewed over 200,000 times on Facebook, with reposts circulating on social media and national news outlets.

Pictured below is Schrader handing himself into authorities.

The video shows how frightening bullying has gotten, and hopefully the 13-year-old will recover from this traumatic experience. Also, what is are those teenagers doing with a gun? It's clear from their reckless actions that they have no business handling a gun. Had the firearm discharged, this disturbing incident could have become the latest national tragedy.

A mom has taken to social media to defend her son for punching his bully after his school did nothing.

In a lengthy Facebook post, Allison Arnal Davis explained that her son Drew had no option but to fight back after he was relentlessly tormented by a classmate - an act which resulted in him receiving a five-day suspension.

This bullying victim broke down in tears after he was surprised by his classmates:

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She wrote: "Five days of OSS for beating up the kid that has been tormenting and bullying him since middle school. know as a parent I'm supposed to be upset with him for resorting to violence or getting suspended, but I'm not. Not even a little bit."

The mother then followed this introduction up with a lengthy explanation of the horror her son allegedly suffered at the hands of his bully.

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"For years the school has failed Drew. When this kid has constantly threatened to beat Drew up along with several of his friends, the school did nothing," she wrote.

"When this kid followed Drew down the hall threatening him and making fun of him AND it was all captured on video, the school did nothing. When other kids told teachers and administrators that this kid was threatening Drew, the school did nothing.

"When this kid took to social media, voicemails, and texting threats, the school did nothing. When this kid threatened Drew over and over in every class they have together. The school did nothing."

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Needless to say, the mom was rightfully horrified that her son received a five-day suspension after his bully was allowed to repeatedly torment him without consequence.

"Not once has the school ever punished the kid that has threatened and bullied Drew over and over," she wrote. "In middle school Drew was afraid to walk down the halls because a swarm of this kid and his minions would make fun of and threaten Drew. He quit talking to the adults about it because they never disciplined the bully and it just made the situation worse."

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The mom explained that prior to her son getting physical, she had begged the school to take action by email. She said that her son refused to ask for help because he knew he wouldn't get it, despite sharing four classes with his bully.

The school's solution was to have him and his bully sign a "no-contact contract".

"I'm pretty sure I rolled my eyes," she explained. "And, like Drew, I gave up on trying to get the school to actually do something that would stop this kid from bullying Drew."

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Concluding the post, Alison revealed what finally pushed Drew over the edge - and caused him to inadvertently solve the problem for himself.

"When this kid threatened Drew (while on the bus) and then moved on to making fun of his Dad and then threatening Jackson, his 11-year-old brother, Drew decided that he would quit relying on the school and the adults who are supposed to protect him and HE would do something. Three punches and his bully screamed like a baby, his minion friends shut up, and this morning the bully wouldn't even look at him."

The mother of a teenager to beat a school employee unconscious has spoken out - and asked for people to show her son "mercy".

Joan Naydich - a teacher at Matanzas High School in Florida - was beaten unconscious by then-17-year-old student Brendan Depa after a member of staff confiscated a Nintendo Switch from him during school hours back in February.

Security footage from the attack shows Depa becoming wildly aggressive and tackling Naydich to the ground before landing multiple punches and kicks, rendering her unconscious.

Depa was later arrested and pleaded no contest as an adult for first-degree aggravated battery.

The 57-year-old suffered multiple injuries at the hands of the brutal attack including several broken ribs, a severe concussion, and hearing loss. Not only that but half of her face was left bruised and scarred after repeated contact with the carpet.

As Naydich has reportedly refused to help the teen’s defense lighten his sentence, the teenager now faces 30 years in prison.

Now, in an emotional interview with News Nation, Depa's mom has called for people to go easy on her son - stating that he should never have been attending the Florida-based high school in the first place.

Speaking about the her son's attack on Naydich, a tearful Leanne Depa said: "Nobody should ever have to go through that. But at the same time, please consider that my son has had a hard life and he's gone through so much trauma in his life."

The mom continued: "He has autism. Please show mercy to him.  It's devasting. My heart is breaking, I'm terrified for my child."

The now-18-year-old Brendan has a severe form of autism, ADHD, oppositional defiance disorder, and reactive explosive disorder.

She then claimed that if her son is sent to prison, it would be a "death sentence for him".

"He's scared. And to have your child call and cry and say 'I don't want to die', it's awful," she added.

Leanne Depa then stated that her son had been in a specialist facility before the pandemic, and that the attack could have been avoided if he had been enrolled in a more suitable education setting.

"I had always homeschooled him because he didn’t handle the school environment. I asked the group home, ‘Did he have to go to public school? Could he not do school online?’ And I was assured by them that all of their clients went to public school," she said.

"I never thought he belonged in public school. I didn’t have a choice."

Naydich is currently living off donations from strangers after being placed on unpaid leave.

"Everybody that knows me or knew me [before the attack] knows that I’m a totally different person now," the teacher's aide told Fox 35. "My whole life was just turned upside down."

"Unfortunately, a lot of my injuries that are not visible I'm going to have for the rest of my life," she said.

"I was attacked on February 21st and I feel like I'm just constantly being attacked," Naydich added, while referencing to the medical and financial hurdles she’s faced in recent months.

Naydich was put on unpaid leave after sustaining the horrific injuries and a GoFundMe page was set up in order to help her continue with her life in the mean time.

"Joan is humble, never asks for help and needs our love/support during this difficult time," read the description. "I've asked her to allow us to do this so that she can rest, heal and spend time with her kids without worrying about financial concerns right now."

The fund has raised a total of $134,000 at the time of writing as donations continue to increase by the hour.

Depa will be sentenced on January 31. He is currently being held on a $1 million bond.

Featured image credit: News Nation

In fact, one video taken inside an eighth-grade classroom of all places shows a mom standing up to her daughter's alleged bullies in an expletive-ridden rant: