Schoolgirl brutally attacked outside McDonald’s Gilles Plains on Tuesday

A mum has told of her trauma after hearing on a mobile phone her daughter’s screams as she was being brutally bashed by bullies, just a week into starting high school.

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A mother has told of her trauma after hearing her daughter’s screams during a brutal attack outside a suburban McDonald’s, at the hands of school bullies.

The girl’s mother told The Advertiser she discovered her 13-year-old daughter bloodied and distraught after the assault at Gilles Plains Shopping Centre on Tuesday afternoon.

“All I could hear was this bloodcurdling noise screaming ‘Mummy, help me,’ and I couldn’t do anything about it,” said the mother, who rushed to the centre “in about 30 seconds” after someone at the scene answered her daughter’s phone during the attack.

“I could hear her screaming from the carpark … she was covered in blood. When I got there, I was hysterical.

“That screaming for my help has been playing in my head for the last 24 hours.”

On Wednesday night, the Year 8 girl, was recovering at home from serious injuries – including losing her two front teeth, concussion and spinal damage – after being discharged from the Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

She underwent emergency surgery Tuesday night and doctors believe she will need further dental reconstructive work that will take at least 12 months to recover from.

“A student nurse put teeth in milk, which may have saved them. I cannot show my appreciation for that girl enough,” she said.

Police have charged the two alleged attackers with aggravated assault cause harm.

The two girls, 14 and 15, who were known to the girl were bailed to appear in the Adelaide Youth Court at a later date.

The girl in hospital after she was viciously bashed. Picture: 9 News Adelaide

The Education Department said the northeastern-suburbs high school was investigating the incident, taking appropriate disciplinary action, and offering the girl and her family support.

The woman said her daughter – a hardworking student with good grades – was so traumatised she may not return to that school.

“She was just getting that little bit of freedom that comes with being a teenager, and now I don’t know if I’ll ever let her go out again,” she said.

The mother-of-three said the girl had been the victim of bullying in her first week at the school.

“The bullying started in the schoolyard – large groups could follow her,” she said.

“Nowadays this is how high-school students fight, it’s going for the head and doing as much damage as you possibly can. Bullies are everywhere, you can’t escape it.”

A friend of the family has created a GoFundMe page to raise money for the girl’s medical expenses. As of Thursday morning, it had raised almost $19,000.

Originally published as Schoolgirl brutally attacked outside McDonald’s Gilles Plains on Tuesday