In one of the most shocking incidents of racial discrimination and ethnic intimidation, four black teen girls were caught on video attacking a group of Asian students on a SEPTA train in Philadelphia. Shocking video of the incident captured by a passenger shows the four teens throwing punches and screaming profanities at a group of Asian students.
The four unidentified girls, aged between 13 and 16, have now been charged with ethnic intimidation and other offenses following a police investigation. Interestingly, the mother of one of the four black girls who attacked the Asian students turned her into police after watching the video.
Brutal Attack
The video of the attack which happened on Wednesday afternoon has now gone viral on social media. It is unclear what sparked the feud, but video footage shows a girl in an all-pink outfit and a black ski mask screaming profanities at around 3.30 pm on Wednesday.
The video opens with the girl in pink screaming at a group of Asian boys while another in a black quarter-zip jacket punches one who is wearing a red jacket. The girl in pink appears to say, "You want to doubt my people,' before firing off a string of profanities. You want to come on, b***ch? You want to try me, b***ch, f**king try me, I'll f**king beat ya," she continued screaming as she stood over the the group of sitting boys.
The widely shared video shows the attackers then physically assaulting a teenage male freshman from Central High School. A female senior student who also appears to be Asian or Asian American then comes into the shot and attempts to stop the assault, but she immediately becomes the next target. One of the attackers then can be seen punching, knocking over and repeatedly kicking the teen girl before slapping her with her shoe.
Soon, the two other black teen girls from the assailant group follow suit and begin kicking and punching the Asian girl as she lies on the ground. Eventually, a man intervenes but then the video cuts abruptly. It is not known what happens next. However, the incident was reported to SEPTA police following which an investigation was launched.
The incident was reported by one of the female victims. After officers reached the scene, the victim was rushed to a hospital where she was treated for a laceration.
Charged for Assault
The video of the incident went viral in no time, with people labeling it one of the worst examples of ethnic intimidation. Thomas Nestel, police chief for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), said the attack was unprovoked and had been based on the group's ethnicity, noting that "ethnic slurs were used by the attackers."
Nestle also thanked the mother of one of the attackers for turning her daughter to the police after watching the video. Police said ethnic slurs were repeated and directed at them and mocking them for their heritage... it was clear they were picked on because they were Asian."
One of the suspects was also charged with robbery for the attempted theft of a victim's air pods, the prosecutor said. "Those involved in the assault have been identified and will be held accountable. I want our residents to know that we will not tolerate any acts of hate," Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney tweeted.
