SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- South Bend police responded to the Potawatomi Zoo on Thursday afternoon on reports of a woman assaulting her child. On Friday, the St. Joseph County Prosecutor's Office charged the woman with three counts of Domestic Battery. 

Authorities say the call came in around 1:10 p.m. and when they arrived at the zoo they found 41-year-old Angel Shidaker, and her four-year-old child in one of the restrooms.

"Shidaker told officers that when she informed her child that it was time to leave the zoo, the child ran away from her and fell down," SBPD said.

"Shidaker also told officers that she slapped her child on the bottom. Shidaker also stated that her child is a runner, so she uses a harness on the child."

Authorities say a witness told officers that they saw Shidaker pick up her child and slam the child on the ground.

"The same witness also stated that Shidaker had the harness wrapped around her child’s neck," SBPD said.

"The witness told officers that they tried to grab the harness and Shidaker pulled away, cussing at the witness. The witness said that the child was crying and Shidaker told the child to 'shut the hell up' and hit the child on the side of the head."

A second witness told officers she noticed Shidaker becoming angry with her child and screaming loudly, eventually hitting the child on the ground behind the bushes.

"An SBPD officer observed the child to have dirt on their arms and leg, small red spots on the back of their head and possible swelling and a bruise forming near their temple," SBPD said. 

Shidaker was arrested and transported to the St. Joseph County Jail.

St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office filed the following charges against Shidaker:

• Domestic Battery Resulting in Bodily Injury to a Person Less Than 14 Years of Age (Felony)
• Domestic Battery on a Person Less Than 14 Years Old (Felony)
• Domestic Battery (Misdemeanor)