5 arrested after 17-year-old girl viciously attacked in Yarmouth

Five people are facing assault charges after a 17-year-old girl was the victim of what RCMP believe to be a targeted attack on Friday in Yarmouth, N.S.

Around 8 p.m. Friday night, the girl entered a convenience store in Yarmouth. She was injured.

"She was bleeding, she was screaming, she had injuries to her face and her hands and obviously extremely upset ... so staff at the store called 911 for her," said Cpl. Jennifer Clarke.

The girl was taken to hospital and is expected to survive her injuries, Clarke said.

Michelle Leblanc was working at Your Winners World at Acadia First Nation when the girl ran into the store screaming and begging for help.

"She said that there were people after her, trying to kill her," Leblanc said.

Staff came to girl's aid

Leblanc said she called 911 and other staff took the girl to a back room to try to calm her.

"She seemed very scared. They had beaten her so bad, her legs were bruised, they had ripped some of her fingernails off, they had ripped a lot of her hair out of her skull, her face was completely just beaten, like it was swelled up," she said.

Leblanc said help arrived minutes later and the girl went to the hospital.

The incident unfolded earlier that night when the girl was picked up by a female whom she knew in a small blue SUV on Cliff Street.

Police say three other people were in the car and the girl didn't know they were there.

Shortly after getting in the car, police say the girl was attacked by people in the SUV. Police say she was punched in the head.

From there, they drove the girl to a number of locations around Yarmouth.

One of the stops was in the nearby community of Hebron.

There, the SUV pulled over to Leighton Street where the girl was allegedly assaulted again. Police say she was dragged out of the SUV, thrown to the ground, then kicked and punched in the head.

From there, the girl was taken to another person's home on Baker Street, then to the NSLC on Starrs Road. The girl went into the liquor store with one of the suspects, police said.

After the stop at the liquor store, they drove the girl to a location on Green Street where the alleged assaults continued. Police said the owner of a dog tried to get it to attack her.

Police said the suspects also allegedly poured water over the girl's face and down her throat. She was also allegedly dragged back to the SUV by her hair, police said.

"At this point, there were six people, including the victim, in the vehicle," Clarke said. "They left the location where they were and headed to a convenience store where the victim eventually got help.

"She had been between a couple of people in the backseat of the car and one of the people exited the car [and] she was actually able to get out of the vehicle and run into the store and get help."

Police say the victim and suspects know one another and that the girl was lured to the SUV under false pretences.

"The person who picked her up, the victim thought it was more of a social call as opposed to anything else. And that's when the assault started, as soon as the person driving the vehicle picked her up," Clarke said.

As of 3 p.m. Monday, none of the suspects had been charged, but each faces charges of assault and assault with a weapon.

Suspects are 4 adults and a youth

At least one of the weapons was a stick, police said.

"We do feel this was a targeted incident, the victim did know the suspects," said Clarke. "[It was] quite a harrowing night for her."

One suspect was arrested on Friday evening with two more arrested on the weekend. Two more suspects were arrested on Monday morning.

Four of the suspects are adults and one is a youth, Clarke said.

Leblanc said she has a daughter who is about the same age as the girl. 

She said staff at the store pulled together to help. "We did everything we could, it was just a team effort on everyone's part," she said.

Police are looking to speak with witnesses and can be reached at 902-742-9106 or anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).