A school security officer intervened in a brawl between two schoolgirls by shooting them with a Taser gun.
The 12 and 13-year-old pupils were fighting on a bus parked near Inman Middle School in northeast Atlanta last Friday, when the guard took drastic action.
One of the girl's parents has since said the use of the Taser was 'unnecessary'.
Sheena Lester, mother of Shakya, told the WSBTV Channel 2 TV station that were was 'no excuse' for the stun gun to have been used - particularly as her daughter has a heart problem.
"These kids didn't have a weapon. They are little girls," she said, wiping away tears and saying she was 'heartbroken' that her daughter had been Tasered.
Shakya admitted she was fighting at the time of the Taser attack, and described the moment it struck her as being like a 'deep shock' which made her shake.
Her outraged mother questioned why the school officer could not have physically broken up the fight between the students.
A spokesman for Atlanta Public Schools confirmed to Channel 2 that both students were shot with the stun gun.
APS spokesman Stephen Alford said the officer - who is a certified Taser instructor - felt he responded adequately to the situation.
The Daily Mail reports Atlanta police as saying that the gun made 'brief, direct contact with the girls because it was in 'drive stun' mode'.
They added that cameras attached to the device will allow them to view the incident and determine if the gun was deployed in keeping with their official policy and procedure.