Online assault on Windsor girl resulting in charges

People who swarmed a teenage girl, repeatedly punching and yelling at her, could face charges of threats and assault, say police.

A group of teenagers surrounded the girl near Pillette Road and Wyandotte Street Tuesday evening, refusing to let her get by them. She is eventually shoved from behind, while another girl punches her repeatedly, according to a video of the incident posted online.

The girl in a pink hooded sweatshirt is seen hunched over against a wall, crying loudly as the group continues to accost her.

"They were yelling at her, trying to instigate a fight," said Const. Andrew Drouillard, a spokesman for Windsor police. "It was an unprovoked attack and she was assaulted by a number of people involved."

Attackers facing severe threats

Public outcry over the incident erupted on social media overnight Wednesday. Police have since had to send officers to one of the attacker's homes because of the threats they have received.

"It's obviously a disturbing video that raised a lot of concerns in the community," Drouillard said. "It's a difficult video to watch."

Public disgust indicates the community will not tolerate the "unacceptable" behaviour, explained Drouillard. He cautions everyone against responding to violence with more violence.

"We don't want people taking matters into their own hands," Drouillard said. "Let us do our jobs."

Girl throws several punches

Before the punches begin, the victim in the video cries as the group first starts to harass her.

"You gonna cry again? Make us feel bad for you?" one girl asks. "We're not gonna feel bad for you, honey. You've been talking shit. You have to back it up."

Two girls do most of the shouting in the beginning of the video that was viewed more than 580,000 times before being made private by the owner of the Facebook profile where the video was posted.

The girl being accosted flips the middle finger to someone shouting off camera. That's when she is shoved from behind and punched by another girl standing in front of her.

"Flip him off again," the one girl says repeatedly as she delivers each punch to the girl's body, eventually backing her against a wall.

"You scared?" the girl yells. "You f--king should be."

Windsor police have laid charges in the incident