A 16-year-old girl has been charged with robbery and assault over a street attack in Birmingham that was filmed and viewed more than 6m times on Facebook.
The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is suspected of attacking two schoolgirls in the Northfield area on Saturday night. She was remanded in custody after being arrested on Tuesday and will appear at Birmingham youth court on Wednesday.
Police launched an investigation after phone footage showing two 14-year-old girls being beaten and humiliated was posted online. The pair were punched and their bags were taken and emptied by an older girl as a small crowd looked on. At one point the victims were ordered to their knees by the older girl and repeatedly made to say sorry to another female for “giving dirty looks”. They were then forced to remove their socks and shoes, which were thrown onto the dual carriageway along with their bags.
Tuesday’s arrest came after members of the public viewed the footage and provided details about the identity of those allegedly involved in the attack. West Midlands police have urged social media users to delete the video from their accounts.
In a statement posted on Facebook, the force said: “Now that a suspect has been charged, and out of respect for the alleged victims, we would ask anyone who has published or shared the video to remove it from their social media accounts.
“We would remind you all that now a charge has been made the name of the teenager cannot be reported. This could jeopardise any future court proceedings. Anyone who adds names to this post will have their comment deleted.”
Detectives had previously revealed that they had spoken to two of the group involved in the incident, including the male youth who filmed it. They said plans were in place to arrest the two alleged female offenders.
Insp John Askew of West Midlands police’s Birmingham South division said: “The response from members of the public, clearly disgusted by what they’ve seen online, has been overwhelming and we’ve had lots of people getting in touch to provide names of those responsible.
“We have identified the two main suspects and plans are in place for one of the girls, a 16-year-old, to attend a police station for questioning. We understand the other main suspect is out of the country on holiday but we will speak to her upon her return.
“I would like to reassure everyone this is being treated very seriously and that the inquiry is progressing ... under no circumstances should anyone take matters into their own hands as this could leave them liable to prosecution themselves.”
DS Dean Gordon added: “The violence shown against these two girls is completely unacceptable … we will not tolerate this kind of bullying and those involved will be brought to justice.”
