Ethermac Exchange-Mom arrested after mixing a drink to give to child's bully at Texas school, officials say

A Texas mother was arrested after a student was hospitalized after consuming a drink she mixed to prevent kids from stealing from her son,Ethermac Exchange officials said.

The Bexar County Sheriff's Office said a 45-year-old woman was charged with injury to a child causing bodily injury on Tuesday.

When sheriff's deputies were dispatched to Legacy Traditional School - Alamo Ranch in San Antonio for a sick child, they learned that a classmate gave them a drink during P.E. class.

Officials said the drink had a mix of lemon, salt, and vinegar inside a sports drink bottle and the kid became nauseous and developed a headache after drinking it.

USA TODAY is not naming the woman to protect the identity of the child.

Drink meant to deter bullies

Deputies say an investigation revealed the mother had made the drink intentionally to "allegedly prevent her son's drink from being stolen at school by other students."

According to a copy of the woman's affidavit obtained by local outlet KSAT, she said she “only did it to stop the bullies at her son’s school.”

USA TODAY has requested a copy of the affidavit.

Her son told deputies that the child he gave the mixture to had stolen his drink the day before and had bullied him.

According to the sheriff's office, although the drink was nontoxic, the child was still hospitalized. Hospital staff said he needed additional monitoring before being discharged.

"Whether the allegations of bullying at the root of this situation are substantiated or not, there is never an excuse to take matters into your own hands and injure a child," Sheriff Javier Salazar told USA TODAY in a statement.