In Monday's incident, Garling, 27, of Upper Darby, walked into the Family Dollar Store on Garrett Road - where she had been banned for an alleged theft - with her daughter, 7, and her son, also 7, at about 3:30 p.m., Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said Wednesday. He said the children aren't twins but were born in close succession.
When the store manager recognized Garling, she told her to leave, police said.
"She started to walk away and then pulled out a pepper-spray can, turned toward the two victims and sprayed them both in the face," Chitwood said.
The manager was able to wrestle Garling to the ground, where she continued to spray the workers, Chitwood said. At one point, he added, she handed the can to her daughter and told her to keep spraying.
The girl never shot the pepper spray, and the manager held Garling to the ground until police arrived, Chitwood said.
When police searched Garling, she had a bag of marijuana on her and eight clonazepam pills, which are used to treat seizures and panic attacks, police said.
She was charged with simple assault, possession of a controlled substance and related offenses. Garling's children were placed in the custody of their father.
"She deserves to have kids like the man in the moon deserves to have kids," Chitwood said. "These kids don't have a shot with a mom like that."
Last week, Michele Davenport, 45, of Clifton Heights, was arrested for allegedly forcing her 12-year-old daughter to fight a classmate in the parking lot of Primos Elementary School in Upper Darby.
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