Teen who allegedly attacked boy in filmed assault refused bail

A 14-year-old boy has been refused bail after he was charged over a group attack in which a 13-year-old boy was allegedly bashed and threatened with a knife in Perth's north-east.

 The incident was filmed and shared on social media.

The Perth Children's Court heard the boy met with the group of between six and eight offenders at an address in Ellenbrook on Sunday before an altercation began.

The 13-year-old was allegedly punched and kicked, before meeting with the group again at another Ellenbrook location, where he was threatened with a knife and assaulted in a prolonged attack that lasted between five and 10 minutes. 

The court heard the 14-year-old boy who has been charged kicked the boy in the face, causing him to fall on his back.

The boy was then allegedly dragged along the ground, punched and kicked and forced to say "derogatory things", before his t-shirt and jumper were stolen. 

He was able to walk home and later went to Midland Hospital with a concussion, multiple lumps on his head, black eyes and bruising to his upper and lower body.

The 14-year-old boy was charged with aggravated armed robbery and causing bodily harm.

Magistrate Joanne Andretich said while the alleged offender did not have a criminal record, the offending was extremely serious and the state had a "very strong case".

He was refused bail and will return to court in late November. 

Video posted to social media 

A graphic video shared on social media shows a group following a teenager asking "where's the vape?" before the alleged victim is pushed to the ground.

A number of people then punch and kick the crying teenager as he attempts to cover his face.

At one point someone can be seen holding a knife.

"There's been a bit of a disagreement that escalated way out of control, and as you can see on the video, the mob mentality came in," Detective Inspector Gary Butler told 6PR on Thursday.

"He's quite lucky that the injuries aren't more severe, but it's the whole mental anguish of being a victim of crime in this gang attack."

Vigilantism warning

Inspector Butler said the boy's family would "clearly" have been concerned about the repercussions of making a complaint.

"I think what we need to remember is that we're just not sure what's going on in this young fella's life or his family or his school or the social environment," he said.

"So we've provided significant support to him and the family."

A police spokesperson said their investigation was ongoing, with a number of other "persons of interest" identified.

They called for calm, while acknowledging the "considerable concern" the incident had caused within the community.

"Members of the community are strongly urged not to take matters into their own hands, threaten retaliation or publish the names, photographs or personal information of the people believed to be involved," they said in a statement.

'Hard to watch': Minister

Education Minister Sabine Winton said her thoughts were with the 13-year-old and his family.

"It was pretty hard to watch, just absolutely outrageous and has no place,"

she said.

"It's hard to contemplate that anyone would do such a thing, but also the impact on the victim and his family.

"I've instructed, and I've received advice from the [education] department, that they're doing everything they can to support that young person, the family and of course his schoolmates."

Police Minister Reece Whitby said he was "disgusted and angry" to see the attack, particularly the person holding a knife.

"One slip, one wrong move, could have had tragic consequences that might have ended a life," he said on Wednesday.

"We're not going to tolerate this behaviour."

Laws which would have criminalised the sharing of video of the incident on social media are currently before parliament after a committee last year recommended changes to avoid unintended consequences.