JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. _ Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt said Wednesday his office would investigate a St. Louis day care where 3- and 4-year-olds were filmed engaging in fist fights.
The announcement came two weeks after the St. Louis circuit attorney's office dropped its case against day care workers Tena N. Dailey and Mickala Guliford, who were charged in November with felony first-degree endangering the welfare of a child creating a substantial risk.
The office said there was not enough evidence to prosecute the two, who were accused of encouraging the fights. Video from the 2016 incident, in which toddlers were filmed fighting each other, went viral last year.
Schmitt, a Republican, said his office on Tuesday served a civil investigative demand, similar to a subpoena, to the Adventure Learning Center on Gravois Avenue in St. Louis.
"Children are some of the most vulnerable members of our society, and any attempts to harm them in any way will not be tolerated," Schmitt said in a statement.
The investigation is separate from Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner's office investigation, Schmitt's office said.
The attorney general's office does not typically have original jurisdiction in criminal matters.
Schmitt's office said he is launching a civil investigation to probe possible violations of the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, the state's consumer-protection law.
A woman who answered the phone at the day care on Wednesday said no one was available to comment. The St. Louis circuit attorney's office did not immediately issue a statement on the investigation.
