The FBI confirmed that they are evaluating the child abuse allegations levied against actor Brad Pitt, Thursday.
“The FBI is continuing to gather facts and will evaluate whether an investigation at the federal level will be pursued,” the FBI said in a statement to PEOPLE.
Pitt, 52, allegedly got “verbally abusive” and “physical” with one of he and Angelina Jolie’s six children while the family was flying from France back to their L.A. home in a private plane on Sept. 14, a source tells PEOPLE.
PEOPLE confirmed earlier Thursday that the allegations had been referred to the FBI under special aircraft jurisdiction due to the incident being mid-flight.
Jolie, 41, and the couple’s other five children were allegedly also present for the incident, which is also being investigated by the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services. The report alleged he had been drinking at the time of the incident.
Pitt “was drunk, and there was an argument between him and Angelina,” a source previously said to PEOPLE about the actor’s side of the story. “There was a parent-child argument which was not handled in the right way and escalated more than it should have.”
The insider added that Pitt did not hurt his son. “He is emphatic that it did not reach the level of physical abuse, that no one was physically harmed. He did not hit his child in the face in any way. He did not do that; he is emphatic about that. He put his hands on him, yes, because the confrontation was spiraling out of control.”
The Los Angeles Police Department is not investigating any reports or allegations of child abuse against Pitt, a spokesperson previously told PEOPLE.
A source with knowledge of the situation said that Pitt has been “cooperating fully” with the DCFS investigation, and was already interviewed.
Jolie filed for divorce on Monday, requesting sole physical custody of the couple’s six children – Maddox, 15, Pax, 12, Zahara, 11, Shiloh, 10, and 8-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne and request Pitt be granted visitation. She did not request child or spousal support.
In documents obtained by PEOPLE, Jolie cited irreconcilable differences in ending their marriage of two years. She listed the date of separation as September 15 – a day after Pitt’s alleged blowup.
Source: People.com
