GAFFNEY, S.C. — A confrontation between a mother and a man in a Gaffney, South Carolina Walmart is going viral after the woman recorded the man instructing her to gag her one-year-old son.
The video, which was posted on Monday, now has more than 300,000 views.
"I'm shocked that it went that far," said Ashley Hamilton, the mother who shot the video.
Hamilton claimed her one-year-old son, Rio, was humming the popular "Baby Shark" song when a customer told her that her son was being too loud.
"He told me to shut him up from screaming," Hamilton said. "I said he wasn't screaming, and he said gag him."
Hamilton said she then started recording the confrontation on her phone.
"What do you think I should do again?" she asked the man.
"Gag that kid." he said.
"So because my kid is screaming, I should gag him?" Hamilton said.
"Yes," the man said.
The video lasts 40 seconds as the two continue arguing.
"You film me," the man said. "Make sure it goes on YouTube."
"I will," Hamilton said.
"Fine," the man said. "Yes, I said gag the kid!"
The man in this video declined to talk to WCNC, but his niece, Mary Dobos, agreed to speak off-camera.
She claimed Hamilton was the instigator, following her uncle around the store and provoking him while her child was screaming.
Dobos claimed when her uncle reacted, Hamilton began recording the video for social media attention. Hamilton denied those claims.
Both of them went their separate ways; though Hamilton said she remains anxious.
"Now I don't want to take the baby anywhere," Hamilton said. "I think that people's going to think that he's too loud."
Walmart issued a statement to WCNC in response to the video: "One of our core beliefs is respect for all individuals while they are in our stores or anywhere in the community. While we work to resolve problems between customers, if warranted, we will ask a disrespectful customer to leave the store."