A Maryland hairstylist is facing a charge of second-degree assault after video captured her dragging a teenage client across a salon floor for allegedly attempting to walk out of her appointment without paying.
The stylist, 18-year-old Jayla Cunningham, posted the now-viral March 2 altercation online, which shows her dragging the young client by her hood and then throwing her on the ground after she allegedly tried to leave without paying, according to Washington D.C. outlet FOX 5.
In the video, Cunningham, who goes by Jayla Amora on her social media accounts, can be heard telling her client, “Sit right here until somebody sends it,” seemingly referring to the money for the appointment.
“I’m not f—— playing. You just tried to f—— run. You lucky I ain’t beat the s— out you,” she then continues, as the video footage later shows Cunningham cutting the weave she had installed out of the teenager’s hair.
The hairstylist said that the service, including the weave, was $150, and she claimed that if she hadn’t dragged the client back inside, she would not have paid for it. The teen’s mom, however, told FOX 5 that her daughter had accidentally sent the money to the wrong account and was trying to figure out how to remedy the error.
“Forget trash, she ran without paying me,” Cunningham told the outlet. “I dragged her by her hood back into the salon until I could get paid or, you know, until the police come or until, you know, she let me take out the service, because it’s like she literally ran outside, like she was about to be gone.”
“I feel like if I didn’t do that, she would have been gone,” the stylist added, “and I would have just never been paid.”
Cunningham now faces a second-degree assault charge, according to court records viewed by PEOPLE. It is not immediately clear whether she has obtained legal representation.
Cunningham told FOX 5 she has a witness who will back up her claims. She added that she has since received death threats after the video went viral and had to move the location of her salon.
The client’s family, meanwhile, has hired Jackson and Associates, a law firm in Upper Marlboro, to represent the teenager, according to FOX 5. Attorney De’Aja Thompson called the video of the alleged assault “horrendous” in an interview with the outlet.
“It’s a 15-year-old girl. We’re talking about someone’s child here,” Thompson said. “A child who is being dragged across a salon floor by her jacket over something as simple as a mistake.”
In a statement to PEOPLE, Thompson added: “This appalling incident involving a minor child and an adult stylist was most certainly avoidable. Unfortunately, this case is just one depiction of the reality of what happens when citizens take the law into their own hands. As a result, in this case, a young girl suffered physical and psychological injuries for what ultimately turned out to be a mistake, and another young lady is now facing criminal charges that could have larger implications.”
The client’s mother echoed Thompson’s comments while speaking with FOX 5, stating, “It’s just absolutely absurd.”
“It’s viral. It’s all over the country,” she added of the alleged assault. When asked how her daughter is handling the situation emotionally, the concerned mom said, “Emotionally, not good. Not good at all.”
In an update shared on her Instagram Stories on March 8, Cunningham told her followers, “I’m okay yall thank yall love yall [sic].”
Cunningham is set to make her first appearance in court at a preliminary inquiry on April 18, per court records viewed.
