School condemns attack
But head warns of ‘glorifying’ actions
MERRIMAC State High School principal Chris Tobin has condemned a violent incident involving his students, but blasted media coverage of the attack by saying it “only serves to glorify negative behaviour”.
A video emerged yesterday of a teenage girl dressed in a Merrimac State High School shirt attacking another girl. She pulled her hair, dragged her to the ground and repeatedly punched her.
The video was filmed at Pacific Fair Shopping Centre in Broadbeach on Tuesday. The footage, 45 seconds long, begins with the teenager grabbing the bag of another girl.
The assailant follows the schoolgirl through a carpark outside Pacific Fair.
“Don’t touch me. Let go,” the girl says while trying to escape the situation.
A group of teenagers can be heard laughing, while some film the attack.
“Hit her,” one person says. Another yells: “Just smack her.”
Seconds later, the girl grabs the student by the hair and slams her into the cement. She is then seen punching the girl in the head more than a dozen times.
The victim is seen curled up on the ground trying to protect herself.
“Oi, that’s enough,” a person is heard saying.
The girl who was attacked stands up and the assailant hits her in the head a couple more times before following her. The victim is dragged to the ground before being punched repeatedly.
Queensland Police said a complaint had been made.
“Detectives from the Child Protection Investigation Unit are actively investigating the matter. The QPS is appealing for anyone with further vision to contact police.”
Mr Tobin said the school had taken action.
“Merrimac State High School is built upon three values of respect, responsibility and reliability,” he said.
“The violent incident outside school grounds on Tuesday directly opposes these values and any act of student violence is strongly condemned by our school community. I have already addressed this violent incident and have taken the strongest possible action in line with our school’s Responsible Behaviour Plan.”
Mr Tobin added that the broader community had a responsibility to encourage and support positive behaviours.
“Continued media coverage and social media posts regarding these kinds of incidents only serves to glorify negative behaviours displayed in these videos,” he said.
“As the matter is being investigated by the Queensland Police Service, no further information can be provided.”
The Bulletin understands the alleged attacker has been expelled.
A spokesman for Pacific Fair said it had a “zerotolerance” approach to this type of behaviour, and security and police were notified about the incident.
“As part of our proactive community engagement, we are currently working closely with local high schools and the Queensland Police on youth-related programs,” the spokesman said.