According to ABC News, the attack on the pint-sized 15-year-old girl in a light blue hoodie by a gang of at least five girls occurred on Monday afternoon, March 9, 2015 at a Brooklyn McDonald’s on Flatbush Avenue.
The students were from the nearby Erasmus Hall High School.
The video shows the gang of girls pushing, slapping, punching and ripping viciously at their victim until she was too weak to stand. She was finally forced to hide under a table, protecting her face with her hands from kicks aimed at her. But in the midst of the sickening violence, a crowd of youths cheered and pushed against each other for a better view.
Despite being hopelessly outnumbered, the victim fought back fiercely, ripping off the shirt of one of her assailants to reveal purple bra.
An adult and a few other students finally intervened when the victim appeared too weak to continue defending herself. But the girl who had been stripped to her purple bra stomped on the head of her fallen foe, saying, “bitch,” before she stormed out.
A young bystander can be heard saying jokingly, “Yo, she is dead. It’s a murder.”
A few people try to help the dazed girl sit up and one person called, “Go get ice! Go get ice!”
NY Daily News reports that at first, the New York Police Department said it was aware of the incident and was reviewing the video but there was little police could do because no one had filed a complaint. A spokesperson also claimed that the police department was unaware of the incident at the time it happened because no one called 911.
However, police later admitted that employees at the McDonald’s called 911.
The franchisee at the McDonald’s issued a statement: “In keeping with my restaurant policy, my employees contacted the police at the onset of this situation.”
After public uproar over the video, police announced they had arrested the 17-year-old girl in purple bra who was shown stomping on the head of the victim.
A police spokesperson justified the decision to take the purple bra girl into custody, despite the fact that no one had filed a complaint, saying, “When something this violent happens and with the extent of the injuries this girl had, even though she didn’t want to press charges, the NYPD can step in and make an arrest.”
Charges against the purple bra girl were pending Thursday, NY Daily News reports. According to police sources, the girl already has a long “rap sheet.”
Police also said they were looking for the other girls involved in the fight and that anyone with information should call Crime Stoppers on 1-800-577-TIPS FREE.
A police source said the victim was so badly beaten that it looked like a pro boxer had used her face as a punching bag.
“Her face looked like a punching bag. Her nose was broken and she didn’t even know it,” the source said.
But despite her injuries, the victim refused to cooperate with police. She and her family refused to talk to investigators, police said.
Officers said they believed she refused to talk out of fear of retaliation. Some of the girls who attacked her reportedly have links with a notorious gang called Young Savages from Crown Heights.
Students at the Erasmus High School confirmed that the girl and one of her assailants had a “beef” and that she came to the MacDonald’s outlet expecting a fight.
“They had beef. They had some stuff between them from before,” a senior at Erasmus High School told NY Daily News. “I don’t know what it’s about, but they know each other.”
But it appears the victim had not expected that her foe would recruit her friends to gang up against her.
The 15-year-old girl was taken to the SUNY Downstate Medical Center and discharged later on Monday. But she was rushed back to the hospital when she blacked out on Wednesday night.
She returned home on Thursday and shocked thousands of her sympathizers when she posted updates to her Faceboook page bragging about her fame after the beating she received.
According to NY Daily News, the girl, identified as ninth grader Ariana Taylor, wrote on her Facebook page, “Everyone Like Im Famous Now.”
She added, proudly, “Im Gucc!”
According to the Urban Dictionary, “Gucc” is street slang for “good” or “cool.”
But despite the victim’s apparent stupidity, the incidence has caused outrage. Mayor de Blasio described the filmed fight as “horrendous.”
He said, “The young ladies should be prosecuted and I believe the video evidence may be sufficient for that. It’s horrendous that a young girl would be attacked in such a fashion.”
NYPD Commissioner William Bratton said, “That type of behavior is not acceptable in any society and certainly is not going to be acceptable here in New York. The behavior was outrageous and we’ll work very closely with the district attorney to ensure that it’s dealt with appropriately in the courts.”
