Girl, 12, badly beaten while confronting TikTok bullies

A 12-year-old girl sustained a concussion after she was ambushed by five girls between the ages of 11 and 13 on the Parralelweg in Helmond last week. The victim wanted to confront one of the girls about a hate account that was made about her on TikTok, authorities said on Friday.

Police in Helmond said the run-up to the incident began a few weeks ago when the 12-year-old victim posted a video on TikTok which received much positive attention.

Shortly after, however, she realized that someone had created an account with spiteful messages targeting her on the social media platform.. The girl soon figured out who had created the account and arranged a meeting with the founder. Both parties agreed to bring one friend.

When the 12-year-old girl arrived to the April 16 meeting she was approached by five girls, two of whom proceeded to beat her to the point where the victim suffered a concussion and multiple bruises. The three other girls stood by and filmed the attack.

A witness to the crime intervened and was able to prevent the girl from suffering further injury. Police said the victim has flashbacks, nightmares and anxiety attacks about the incident.

Despite their age, the five attackers were taken into custody with permission from the public prosecution service.

In sharing the young victim's story, police wanted to publicize their site for reporting online bullying.