SerpApi.Org
A young Tyrone girl who has faced bullying and beatings is attracting a swell of support after a video of the latest attack on her went viral.
Caitlin McGintry, aged just 12 and from Strabane, 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 McDonald’s, across a road and thrown in front of a car, said her adopted brother, Pat Breslin.
He decided to repost the video on Facebook, attracting 1.4 million views and messages of support from across Ireland and beyond, and close to £14,000 raised from a gofundme campaign.
Pat, whose mother Teresa has guardianship of the orphaned Caitlin, who lost both her parents six years ago, said he did not want to take the video down following a police request.
Facebook owners, Meta, did take the footage down.
Parents of some of those involved in Friday night’s incident brought their children to the Breslin/McGinty home to apologise, Pat said.
The school and the Education Authority have been in touch, while Caitlin and her guardian Teresa met with Derry and Strabane Mayor Grace Uí Niallais.
“Since (Caitlin) started the secondary school beginning back in September, a gang just seemed to pick up on her quiet mannerisms, her vulnerabilities,” Pat explains. “It escalated on to more serious stuff.”
She has been assaulted four times, which were all reported to the school and the PSNI.
Pat added: “But hearing about the assaults and actually seeing the video and what happened to Caitlin…so violent and brutal.”
In the video of just 16 seconds, only two other girls can be seen, but Pat believes there were others 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.”
Pat was then contacted by police who asked him to take the post down. He refused. Within hours, it was removed by Meta.
“Police were involved for months and months and nothing was resolved. Within a few short hours the parents of some of the children were coming to our house, with their children, and apologising,” said Pat.
“It has moved more forward in them few days than all them months.”
Pat described the support since Saturday as amazing, with hundreds of messages from all over the 32 counties and across in Britain.
The family took over guardianship of Caitlin six years ago when her parents, both in their early 40s, died. Her mother suffered from cancer, but then her father died suddenly.
“Everything she had known in life changed overnight as she found herself in a new home. It was really difficult,” said Pat.
“She has been through enough trauma and deserves all the love in the world. For them to chase and bully her I do not know what’s in their mind, it is nastiness.
“We are hoping this is a turning point. It cannot happen again.”
