KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A 29-year-old woman was arrested Friday evening after witnesses saw her punch a child in the face in a South Knoxville parking lot and called police.

Loren Whaley, 29, is charged with felony child abuse.

According to a warrant for Whaley's arrest, Knoxville police were called to the parking lot of Kroger on Chapman Highway near West Young High Pike around 7 p.m. for a report of a woman hitting a 7-year-old in the face.

When officers arrived, they met with a witness who said he saw Whaley drag the child by his arm into a white car in the Kroger parking lot, then hit the child twice in the face with a closed fist, the warrant stated. A second witness corroborated what happened, according to the warrant.

Police contacted the child, and at first, he told the officer he h

See Full Page