Stay Classy Toronto.
Story with video
TORONTO - Toronto police are investigating a shocking Internet video in which a pregnant woman is savagely beaten by three girls on one of the city’s busiest streets.
The beating appears to take place at night outside a 24-hour Burger King restaurant on the east side of Yonge St., south of Dundas St W. Harsh words are exchanged between what appears to be a Native woman possibly in her early 30s and three younger women – one Caucasian and two black.
There are also several others watching – friends of the girls, including at least two males and someone recording the altercation.
The video surfaced Sunday on the website WorldStarHipHop.com, as well as on YouTube, but the latter has since removed it due to its “shocking and disgusting” content.
The video runs just under three minutes and opens with a nasty verbal altercation between the victim and the three girls. As the drama unfolds, passersby continue walking up and down Yonge St.
“This is my land!” the victim says to one of her assailants, after which they taunt each other and call each other “bitch.”
“(Are) you gonna fight a crackhead, really?” giggles one of the girls after one of her companions hands her sports drink off to a male friend, as if to free her hands to fight.
The victim, who said she was pregnant, appears to walk away at one point, only to return seconds later to continue yelling at the girls. She also at one point whistles for help.
“So why are you fighting if you’re pregnant?” yells one of the assailants.
“Hit that crackhead!” bellows one of the girls’ male companions. Meanwhile, the person taping the incident complains that they need a better camera angle.
The flashpoint comes when the victim flings her coat at the girls, knocking a bottle of liquid out of the hands of one of them, shattering it.
One of the girls lunges forward and smacks the victim in the face several times. Another girl then moves in and drives her fist into the victim’s head, knocking her to the pavement. The victim, cowering in fetal position, is then repeatedly kicked by all three girls in the stomach, the face and the back of the head.
The beating continues for half a minute, despite the victim’s wails of agony. When the attack finally stops, one of the assailants spits on the downed woman. It’s only then that a female passerby comes to her aid.
Police were notified of the video by someone in the U.S. Who had run across it while surfing the Internet.
“We are aware of the video,” said Toronto police spokesman Tony Vella, who could not comment on what U.S. state police received the tip from, or on what day or time the attack took place. “We are attempting to identify the victim and the people responsible.”
Vella said that there “are a couple of homeless shelters in the area.”
Ataur Rahman, who manages the Burger King, claimed to know nothing of the incident. He did, however, say that drunkenness and violence in and around the restaurant was not uncommon during the night.
“Friday, Saturday night, the drunk people, they fight,” said Rahman. “In the dining room, some people will be shoving each other, then they go outside, then I don’t know,”