The family of the 15 year-old suspect, who was allegedly seen in a viral video slamming another girls head to the pavement, is pleading for mercy in the handling of the incident.
“Prior to an incident on March 8th where she was seen defending herself from harassment and bullying, she had never been in trouble,” her family wrote in a Change.org petition, obtained by the New York Post, asking Chief Juvenile Officer Rick Gaines not to charge her as an adult.
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Her family noted her numerous academic accomplishments, including the fact that she speaks four languages, plays the violin, and was selected for AP classes.
“It is unjust that such an accomplished young woman should be charged as an adult for assault without considering all the facts of the case that led to the incident where harm occurred,” in their petition.
The case drew significant racial uproar on social media, with some commentators alleging “reverse racism.”
Kaylee Gain, who appears to be white, was reportedly hospitalized and in critical condition after a fight near Hazelwood East High School on Friday. In the video, a group of teen girls, who appear to be Black, are seen punching and kicking the girl on the ground. St. Louis County Police responded to the fight and arrested a 15 year-old suspect on assault charges.
The Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is saying he wants the 15 year old suspect to be tried as an adult. It’s worth noting that Black children are significantly more likely to be tried as adults than their white peers.
“This evil and complete disregard for human life has no place in Missouri, or anywhere,” he wrote on X. “I am praying for the victim. The criminal should be charged and tried as an adult. If the victim dies, that offense should rise to a homicide”
The video caught the attention of conservatives on social media largely because of the suspected races of the suspects and the injured girl.
Charlie Kirk, Founder of Turning Points USA and the man behind a campaign to discredit Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., circulated images of the fight calling the other teen girls a “mob.” His followers quickly latched on to the fight complaining of “reverse racism,” and targeting the race of the girls in the video.
“Lots of diversity doing diversity things,” wrote one social media user.
“Am I the only one noticing the race of the attacker,” wrote another.
“If a white girl did that to a black girl, Biden would be meeting with the victims family tonight In other words, he won’t be meeting with her family tonight,” added another user.
“If the races were reversed, there would be riots,” wrote another.
Valentina Gomez, a candidate for Missouri Secretary of State, used the incident to politically attack Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) for “defunding the police.”
“Kaylee was brutally killed,” tweeted Gomez. “@AGAndrewBailey I EXPECT you to charge the killer with First Degree Murder, and everyone else as an adult for Aiding and Abetting. I call for the resignation of Representative @RepCori for defunding the Police, and @CityofHazelwood Mayor Matthew Robinson for failing to protect its citizens. @EndWokeness @MarioNawfal @libsoftiktok.”
To be clear, Rep. Bush did not defund the police in the City of Hazelwood Missouri or anywhere else for that matter and an arrest was made. Gomez also claimed that the girl was brutally murdered — but so far there have been no official reports that the teen has passed away.
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