SerpApi.Org
Police have identified a suspect in connection with a filmed assault on a young girl in Co Tyrone that led to an outpouring of support.
The 12-year-old girl was attacked on Friday evening, which her family said was only the latest assault and part of a pattern of bullying stretching back several months.
“Police are investigating a report of an assault in the Canal Basin area of Strabane on Friday 17th July,” the PSNI said in a statement.
“A suspect has been identified, and is assisting police with enquiries. At this time, as the investigation continues, it would be inappropriate to make any further comment.”
“We are aware of a video posted on various social media channels at the weekend,” the girl’s school said in a statement.
“We notified the PSNI as soon as we became aware of the video on Saturday, and we are continuing to provide assistance to several statutory agencies involved,” the school added.
“We have been in contact with the family of the child involved and will continue to provide support measures which were put in place prior to the events of the weekend. We will continue to offer any support that we can, to all involved, for as long as is required.
“As a school community we work hard to ensure the safety of our pupils when they are on school premises. We have robust policies and procedures in place to safeguard the young people in our care.”
But, the school added, it has “limited authority over young people outside of school hours or during school holidays. Similarly, we have limited authority over those who may be involved who do not attend” the school.
Management of the school is asking the “wider community to be mindful that sharing, commenting on or speculating about this incident on social media can cause further distress to the child involved, their family and others affected and has the potential to cause further harm.”
The school said: “As the events of the weekend are now the subject of an ongoing PSNI investigation, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”
The young girl attracted a swell of support after a video of the attack on her went viral.
She was attacked in the centre of the Co Tyrone town on Friday evening.
Her tormentors decided to post a portion of the assault online, when she was violently pulled by the hair and flung to the ground, hitting her head and suffering concussion.
This followed another assault a number of weeks ago when she was dragged from a local fast food restaurant, across a road and thrown in front of a car, a relative said.
The relative decided to repost the video on Facebook, attracting 1.4 million views and messages of support from across Ireland and beyond.
Parents of some of those involved in Friday night’s incident brought their children to the girl’s family home to apologise, the relative said,
“Since she started the secondary school beginning back in September, a gang just seemed to pick up on her quiet mannerisms, her vulnerabilities,” the relative explained. “It escalated on to more serious stuff.”
In the video of just 16 seconds, only two other girls can be seen, but it is believed others were in the vicinity at the time. Possibly a dozen have been involved in the bullying campaign over the months, he said.
“The video was circulating among her group and we were not aware until Saturday morning. We saw and it was absolutely horrific.
“I posted it. It was already shared by the bullies. I made a post and gave the background…on everything she has been through. It went viral.”
