A 15-year-old girl attacked a 37-year-old woman in Perth, Australia, according to street camera footage provided by West Australia’s police and published in Yahoo News.
The incident happened in Smallman Place, Ashfield, a suburb of Perth, on Monday, at around 12:40 p.m. The woman under attack was also pregnant.
The disturbing footage starts with showing two young girls wearing wide sweatshirts riding on scooters. Then a middle-aged woman is seen pushing a double baby stroller in the opposite direction. Suddenly, one of the girls on a scooter appears. Then the girl violently grabs the middle-aged woman’s hair from behind and pulls her back. The woman resists but finally falls to the ground, along with her baby stroller, as the young children fall with it on their backs. The attacker is seen dragging the woman until they are out of the camera’s scope.
The attacker was taken into custody by the police and charged with one count of robbery.
However, detectives continue to investigate the case captured in the CCTV footage.
The suspect will appear in the Geraldton Magistrates Court on Sept. 13.
Western Australia’s Police Commissioner Col Blanch called the incident “brutal” and “disturbing,” according to the West Australian newspaper.
“I’m a police commissioner and I’ve seen lots of horrible things in my time and I was still shocked by viewing that footage, [it] was horrific, horrific footage,” Blanch told ABC Radio on Wednesday.
“This is a mum with her two kids, I think it resonated with the entire population about how brutal that looked.
“It was very clear footage and I think that made it even worse for everyone to see.”
Resident Hayley Vigmera, 19, told The West Australian that she was “shocked” and “disgusted” after watching the video of the attack.
“It’s just so upsetting, you should be able to feel safe in your own neighborhood, it’s disgusting,” she said.
“How does someone of that age have the audacity to do that … an adult with a pram, it’s disgusting,” she added.
“I’ve never witnessed or heard of any violence of that level here.”
Vigmera said that she has lived in the neighborhood the attack happened from her early childhood, and has always felt safe.
Neighbors Lynnette, 77, and Kristy Cox said they had always felt safe in the area, “It’s really sad, we’ve always felt safe here, as neighbours we look after each other and are there for one another,” Lynnette told The West Australian.
“It’s very traumatic for her and her kids. You can’t put into words how you feel.”
Kristy said she does not want to walk in the neighborhood any longer, “I’m a mother of [a] young boy and I walk that same street, it makes me not want to walk around there anymore,” she said.
