A 13-year-old girl has been “traumatised for life” after being “battered” on a train.
The teen broke her wrist in the 15-minute attack, despite begging her alleged attackers to stop hurting her.
The footage was broadcast on Snapchat. It shows the teenager being repeatedly kicked and punched in the head. Her hair is also pulled by female aggressors who shout profanities at her.
During the onslaught, the terrified teen, with tears rolling down her cheeks, pleads: “Please leave us alone.” Speaking exclusively to The Mirror, a family member said: “They held her captive on the Metro and they asked for money to stop beating her up.”
The youngster got on the Tyne and Wear Metro at Whitley Bay on Friday afternoon (April 4) before a group got on shortly after. Two teenage girls, both aged 13, have been arrested in connection with the incident, on suspicion of common assault by beating.
Asked how her relative was, the family member said she was understandably “shaken up” and added: “She will have trauma for the rest of her life because of this – she will be scared to go to school and everything and face everyone.”
Chief Inspector Dave Morrison, of Northumbria Police, said: “We have been carrying out extensive enquiries ever since the report was first made – and this has now led to the arrest of two females. Of course, the victim has been left very shaken after the incident, and we will continue to support her in any way that we can.
“Let me be clear that violence of any kind is unacceptable. Everyone deserves to feel safe when travelling on our public transport networks, and we’ll continue to crackdown on pockets of disorder.”
Chief Insp Morrison added: “We carry out various activity throughout the year with partner agencies to tackle anti-social behaviour and criminality, including Operation Early Bird and Operation Coastwatch targeting hotspot areas covering our transport hubs and coastlines.
“We are aware of footage and information circulating online, and it’s vitally important that the public refrain from sharing these posts and speculating both online and in the community.“It goes without saying that doing this could negatively impact on our investigation. It is also important to note that anyone suspected of a crime must not be named publicly for legal reasons and those who are under 18 have anonymity. Our enquiries remain very much ongoing, so we’d urge anyone with further information to get in touch with us as soon as possible.”
Erika Allen, Quality, Health, Safety, Security and Environment Director at Nexus who runs Metro said the behaviour seen on the train was “completely unacceptable” and the company were working with Northumbria Police to support the investigation.
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