‘Child could be killed’ as sickening trend of kids filming attacks on other kids grows

Experts have warned ‘a child could be killed’ as the sickening trend of children filming attacks on other kids grows.

The National Bullying Helpline has told Sky News there was an ‘escalating problem of children filming violence against other children then uploading to social media’.

The half-brother of a 13-year-old girl from Greater Manchester who was dragged to the ground by her hair and kicked in the head by other youngsters has issued the stark warning, saying ‘a child could be killed’.

The victim was leaving school and heading home at the end of the day when she was attacked at the gates.

A video of the assault circulated online as children in Rochdale shared it with others, just before the Easter holidays.

What appears to be two dozen other children are gathered around yelling and cheering. 

An adult witness told Sky News there were around 40 kids present at the attack, which experts say is becoming a ‘sickening’ and ‘growing’ trend in Britain’s schools.

The motive for the attack was quite possibly the videos themselves — with a moment of notoriety on social media with content shared in private chats on WhatsApp, TikTok and Snapchat.

A fair number of the children present had their camera phones at the ready and seemed to understand that an ambush was coming.

At least one of the youths filming joined in on the assault and kicked the victim as she lay on the ground. Even the victim had found out via social media that there was an attack planned.

It’s part of what the National Bullying Helpline told Sky News was an ‘escalating problem of children filming violence against other children then uploading to social media’.

Courageously, the 13-year-old girl who was ambushed just before the Easter holidays wanted to speak out about it — she is being kept anonymous, though she accepts everyone in her school knows what happened.

She described how she felt afterwards saying: “I had a black eye. My head hurt every time I spoke. I couldn’t laugh because my head hurt.

“I couldn’t move my neck. My back was sore. I have a scar on my knee that they cut open. I don’t really like walking around now where I know people from the school are going to be, because pretty much everyone in my school knows about it.

“And I’m kind of glad that I don’t have a phone because I feel like I’d just be getting messaged about it all the time.” She no longer has a mobile phone because her attackers stamped on it.

Billy, 44, who is the half-brother and legal guardian of the victim, says this is becoming a dangerous craze.

He told Sky News: “They pick on someone who’s normally quiet, somebody who doesn’t bother anybody, they’ll then use that person as a target to create this online content. And it’s getting more vicious as each attack comes.

“I don’t believe my sister has any long-running rivalries within the school. I believe this was created solely for the content of the internet. A child is going to lose their life from this craze. It’s happening all over the country.”

Christine Pratt, the founder of the National Bullying Helpline, said: “Increased calls to the National Bullying Helpline flag up this increasingly popular, but sickening, trend.

“This particular behaviour [filming abuse to upload to social media] is seen as ‘sport’ and amusement, often led by gangs and school bullies who seek power and attention. It is classic bullying.

“When it is posted ‘online’ the abuse takes a new form. The victim is further ridiculed. Once on social media, it is ‘out there’.

“We hear about this practice occurring most weeks. It is usually the parent who calls us. They often struggle to persuade a school to believe them and/or take it seriously, investigate or deal with the perpetrators.”

The headteacher of the unnamed school told Sky News: “These stories will, of course, concern families who are part of our school community. Mutual respect, positive behaviour, and high standards are central to everything we do.

“In cases where members of our school community fall short of the expectations of leadership, staff, pupils and their families, nationally guided procedures are followed.”

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said: “We would encourage anyone who is subject to offences on social media that encourages violence against another human being, to have the confidence to report them immediately to GMP via 101 or 999 in an emergency.

“Greater Manchester Police is committed to investigating each and every complaint received of this nature and bringing the perpetrators to justice, because those who are inciting violence through the use of social media, are committing crimes.”

The attack is currently being investigated by the school and by the police, according to Sky News.