Background: Melrose High School on Deadrick Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee (Google Maps). Inset: Jasmine Dunmars (Shelby County Sheriff”s Office).
In a shocking incident at a Tennessee high school, a band meeting turned chaotic when a mother allegedly used her vehicle as a weapon and physically assaulted several children, according to authorities.
Jasmine Dunmars, aged 37, faces serious charges following the altercation, including four counts of aggravated assault, vandalism valued between $2,500 and $10,000, misdemeanor assault, and reckless endangerment. Since May 8, she has been held at the Shelby County Jail with a bond set at $125,000, as indicated by court records.
The incident unfolded on April 21 at Melrose High School in Memphis, Tennessee, where a mother and her three daughters attended a meeting with the school band teachers. Following the conclusion of the meeting, the mother reportedly waited in the parking lot, intending to discuss issues related to bullying involving Dunmars’ child.
According to an affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, the two women exchanged words briefly, but Dunmars was reportedly unwilling to engage in a discussion. She drove away in her 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee, only to return moments later as the other mother was preparing to leave in her 2015 Nissan Pathfinder. Dunmars then allegedly parked in a manner that partially obstructed the other woman’s vehicle.
The defendant got in her 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee and drove away, the court document goes on. However, she “immediately returned” as the other woman was leaving in her own 2015 Nissan Pathfinder. Dunmars “parked in front” of the other woman’s vehicle, “partially blocking her path.”
As Dunmars got out of her SUV to speak to the principal, a fight broke out between her daughter and two of the daughters of the other mother, officers with the Memphis Police Department say. One of the other woman’s daughters “ran to the opposite side of a vehicle from the fight,” but Dunmars allegedly “ran up” to the girl “and began punching her.”
School staff broke up the fight. However, the chaos had not concluded.
Dunmars reportedly got in her SUV again and “turned her wheels” toward the Pathfinder, accelerating and “ramming” the vehicle where another girl inside was trying to exit. This girl “suffered an abrasion” from the impact, authorities said.
But the suspect apparently wasn’t done. According to the affidavit, she then reversed and headed toward the other mother and other students and staff. She “accelerated once more,” attempting to “strike everyone with her vehicle, but all were able to move out of the way.”
Dunmars allegedly “drove through the parking lot, turned around and intentionally struck” the other woman’s vehicle once more. The other mother got in her Pathfinder and left, but Dunmars “continued to chase them,” police said.
Police responded, and Dunmars was identified as the driver “who attempted to run over the citizens.” The other mother and one of her daughters were interviewed about a week later, and they, too, reportedly identified Dunmars as their attacker.
The damage to the Pathfinder was estimated at $7,937. Dunmars was later arrested and booked into jail.
She has a mental evaluation scheduled in court for June 11.