The woman who witnessed a little girl’s meltdown in a Walmart store has defended the child’s behavior, claiming she was afraid because she could not find her family.
Amber Gregory, a mother, was seen in the now-viral footage intervening as shocked onlookers filmed the young girl hurling items across the store without any parent or guardian in sight.
Gregory was seen in a black shirt approaching the girl, telling onlookers: ‘Don’t record her, you don’t know what she’s going through! Don’t do that to a little girl.’
The quick-thinking woman told TMZ the outburst reminded her of traits she sees in her own neurodivergent child – and criticized those who lifted their phones to record the incident, alleging that no one else tried to help find the girl’s family.
Gregory believes the little girl has struggles similar to her child, and was unable to communicate that she needed help.
She added that people wrongly accused the child of being a ‘spoiled brat’ when she was more likely scared.
The heartbroken mother added that onlookers were more concerned with the drama in the moment and catching it on camera than the child’s wellbeing.
Addressing those who wrote hateful things about the distressed girl, Amber revealed what the video did not show.
Amber Gregory (pictured) tried to defend the girl before revealing the true reason behind the outburst
The little girl appeared agitated recorded as she stomped on groceries that she threw on the floor
She said the girl was ‘trying to hurt herself’ using broken glass from the juice bottles she was seen breaking at the end of the video.
The tantrum lasted for about 45 minutes to an hour before her parents showed up to get her and police were called.
Amber claims the parent had to rush the child out of the store under the eyes of the curious crowd.
In the clip seen by millions, the young girl was seen breaking food packaging and bottles bottles.
Flabbergasted bystanders and Walmart employees watched the epic meltdown, before one person – later identified as Amber – rushed to her defense.
Two women were seen trying to physically stop the girl but when the child went on the floor and started kicking, they gave up.
After she stood back up, the girl continued stomping on and flinging items ranging from dairy goods to Little Debbie snack cakes.
One shopper asked who the girl was with and where they were while another ordered onlookers not to touch her or try to intervene.
As a larger crowd began to form around the child, more witnesses tried to speak to her and make her stop, but she only intensified her angry fit.
The final straw was when she started smashing bottles of sparkling juice onto the floor, causing red liquid to spill out and glass shards to shatter across the floor.
One man was seen trying to stop her from grabbing any more bottles before the video ended.
It is unclear where and when this incident occurred, but it began circulating online on Monday.
The child started grabbing and chucking glass bottles of sparkling juice on the floor before a man intervened
Online viewers shared mixed reactions, with many blaming the girl’s parents for her behavior.
Someone wrote: ‘That parent or grandparent should have to pay for every single item after Walmart presses charges for destruction of property.’
Others, as Amber said, were harsh towards the girl’s behavior and said there was ‘no justification’ for her actions.
Other wondered what could be going on in the girl’s life.
‘Children acting this way are often testing their caregivers to see if they care enough to exercise some authority, control, and structure,’ one person said.
Amber received backlash after the video went viral, with commenters calling her out for being too ‘woke’.
‘I don’t care what she’s going through, stop messing with other people’s stuff,’ one person wrote on X, referring to what Amber yelled in the video.
‘I understand she may have issues, but someone has to stop her,’ someone agreed.
