12 arrested in assault on girl over Web post

Last update: November 23, 2009 - 8:43 PM

A dispute on a Metro Transit bus over a MySpace posting led to 12 women and girls assaulting a teenage girl Sunday in a north Minneapolis intersection, authorities said.

Six women ages 18 to 22 were booked into the Hennepin County jail on suspicion of riot and third-degree assault. The others, ranging in age from 13 to 16, were booked into the juvenile justice center on the same counts.

"Because it started on a bus, we'll be presenting the case to the county attorney's office tomorrow for assault charges," Bob Gibbons, a Metro Transit spokesman, said Monday night.

The assault happened about 1:45 p.m. Sunday at 34th and Penn avenues N.

The 12 females disagreed with the posting and confronted a 15-year-old girl about it while on a Route 19 bus, Gibbons said. All of them got off the bus, Gibbons said, but the 12 later came back to the area to find the teen.

The 15-year-old had several facial injuries from punches and kicks, said Sgt. Jesse Garcia, a Minneapolis police spokesman. Someone also sprayed some Mace during the fight, Garcia said.

Along with several cuts on her head, the teen had a torn lip that required stitches from North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale, Garcia said.

VINCE TUSS

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