A Canadian teen was allegedly beaten till she lost consciousness by a group of bullies who lured her to a beach late at night and her heartbroken father fears his daughter will never feel safe again.
The 13-year-old girl was attacked by a horde of teens at Boyce-Gyro Beach Park in Kelowna, British Columbia on Sept. 27 after a friend invited her to show up to the hangout spot at around 8:30 p.m.
When she arrived, the defenseless girl was surrounded by approximately 30 “youths” who began recording a verbal altercation, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Laura Pollock said, according to CBC.
The girl was pushed to the ground where several teens jumped on her and punched her in the head and other parts of her body multiple times before she fell unconscious.
Several people kicked and threw dirt and sand onto the motionless teen.
The girl had called her mom, but the heartless bullies stole her phone, leaving her unable to call for more help, according to her father, Donovan. The family’s last name was not released in order to protect them.
“I watched two minutes of my daughter getting near beat to death, like 20 or 30 kids who just decided that it was better for them to record it and laugh at her,” Donovan told CTV News.
Donovan doesn’t know why his daughter was attacked, saying the teen had just started her first year in high school, and she hadn’t been to school with most of the teens in the attack.
He believes the violence stems from what they see online.
“This is, this is all probably based on what I can think of as social media,” he said.
“I don’t know what my daughter did to deserve this,” says Donovan. “I don’t know what anybody could do to deserve this. It’s terrible to watch. I hope people do watch it so they can believe it.”
An ambulance was eventually called to pick up the 13-year-old and brought her to a hospital.
The teen’s father says she suffered a concussion and bruised ribs but has a long way to go to heal from the trauma she endured.
“Physically, she’s got a lot of healing to do,” Donovan said. “Mentally, she started therapy and I don’t know how long that’s ever going to take for her to trust or want to be outside again.”
The RCMP had opened an investigation into the assault, as they “reviewed very clear and detailed video of the incident to identify all of those involved,” including “primary aggressors” and witnesses, according to the outlet.
Three minors were arrested on Tuesday after investigators identified them as part of the five “aggressors” to take part in the attack.
They were released on strict conditions, CBC reported.
Pollack said the ages of the suspects limits the amount of information that can be released but pleaded to the teens to stop sharing video of the disturbing attack.
“I know from my work with victims that have been exploited through imagery and continuous circulation of video and photos when they are a victim of crime that it has profound and lasting impacts,” she said. “The video is degrading and an attempt to humiliate.”
Donovan blasted the youth crime in the community, calling for an end to the violence that left his daughter severely injured.
“How many messages do we need to send and say this also happened to my daughter before something gets done?” he said. “It’s ridiculous.”
Pollack commended two anonymous youths who attempted to help the teen — one who called the police and the other who jumped in and tried to stop the attack.
The Friday night attack was one of several incidences that occurred involving youth, including assault and mischief near the beachfront park in the city, police said.