In a cellphone video, a woman appears to be taking a swing at a teenager inside a McDonald's in Stanwood, Washington.

However, it is what came before the swing that has brought controversy. The woman accused of hitting the teenager said she felt threatened by the group of students because they were swearing around her young child.

>> Read more trending stories

The teen who allegedly was hit, Connor Reynolds, tells a different story. Reynolds said the woman, later identified by police as 29-year-old Elyssa Buhl, was upset at a group of eighth-graders for swearing and acted aggressively toward them. Reynolds, who is in the ninth grade, said he and his friends intervened. 

“She took a kid’s frappe and threw it on the ground,” Reynolds said. “She started using awful language in front of her kid, which is very ironic to me.”

The police report said there is likely enough evidence for Reynolds and his family to press charges. Reynolds said he is still considering the possibility.

When reached by phone, Buhl said she felt “surrounded” and thought she had to lash out to defend herself and her child.