Toya Graham, Baltimore 'Mom Of The Year,' Speaks Out About Slapping Son During Riots

A Baltimore mother became something of a national hero Monday night when footage of her disciplining her teenage son during the Baltimore riots went viral. Now, Toya Graham, a single mother with six children, has spoken out against the violence that erupted in her hometown this week – and the punishment she openly dished out to her 16-year-old son when she caught him throwing rocks at police officers.

"At that point, I just lost it," Graham told CBS News Tuesday. "I was shocked, I was angry, because you never want to see your child out there doing that."

Graham said she didn’t want to see her son suffer the same fate as Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old man who died in police custody earlier this month. Gray had been arrested 18 times prior to his death.

"There's some days that I'll shield him in the house just so he won't go outside, and I know that I can't do that for the rest of my life," Graham added. "I'm a no-tolerant mother. Everybody that knows me, know I don't play that."

Graham made headlines within hours, and the New York Post labeled her "mother of the year."

"He gave me eye contact. And at that point, you know, not even thinking about cameras or anything like that. That's my only son and at the end of the day I don't want him to be a Freddie Gray," Graham said. She recognized her son, who was wearing a black ski mask and black shirt, immediately.

On Wednesday morning, Graham appeared on "CBS This Morning."

“I thought, ‘Oh my God, my pastor is gonna have a fit,' ” Graham told the show after seeing the video of herself and her son.