The family of the teenage girl charged with violently assaulting Kaylee Gain says that she is the real victim who was 'harassed and bullied' before the viral incident – and are raising $150k for her legal defense, DailyMail.com can reveal.
Kaylee, 16, from St Louis,
Missouri has been left in a life-threatening condition by the student who repeatedly smashed her head into concrete.
She suffered a skull fracture and frontal lobe damage during the violent March 8 brawl which was caught on camera near her high school.
But her alleged attacker's family have hit back at calls to charge the 15-year-old girl as an adult.
Kaylee Gain, 16, suffered a skull fracture when her head was repeatedly smashed into the ground during a brawl near her St. Louis high school earlier this month
The family of the 15-year-old girl charged with the attack told DailyMail.com that she was 'defending herself' during the fight with Kaylee
Gain appears to have a seizure as other teens continue to fight over her body
Gain was left alone on the ground to convulse before EMTs arrived on the scene
Speaking to DailyMail.com her aunt confirmed that she was an honor roll student at Hazelwood East High School with an exemplary record and was 'defending herself' during the fight with Kaylee.
The family has created a Change.org petition, calling on the St Louis Juvenile Court to show 'compassion' to the schoolgirl, DailyMail.com can reveal.
Her aunt said Kaylee was not being bullied by her niece and urged people to donate to help with her legal bills as the situation wasn't exactly what it seemed.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey warned the sickening attack against high schooler Kaylee Gain was a result of 'radical' DEI policies and a soft-touch approach to justice
'If people want to donate, they should give it on the CashApp, not the petition,' she added.
'We set up a GoFundMe but it was taken down in hours, we have a lawyer. The family are all together and we will get through this.'
The fundraiser, which was removed by GoFundMe, said the teen was 'unfairly' painted as a bully and that she is the victim 'in a complicated situation'.
It raised nearly $3,000 before being taken down.
The page was set up on March 16, begging for help with her legal defense, as her family claim that they have been targeted with 'racist death threats'.
But the funds will now be returned to those who donated, with officials at GoFundMe confirming that they removed the webpage hours after it was created.
In a statement to DailyMail.com a GoFundMe spokeswoman said: 'I can confirm the fundraiser was removed and all donors have been refunded.
'GoFundMe's Terms of Service explicitly prohibit fundraising for the legal defense of an alleged violent crime.'
But the girl's family says she 'deserves amnesty and a chance at forgiveness', adding that her 'fair trial hearing is being swayed'.
The girl has been charged with felony assault and is being held by St Louis Family Court, with a hearing expected in early April.
Her family describe her as an honor roll student who speaks four languages, who was being 'harassed and bullied' before the fight broke out.
The Change.org petition calls on the St Louis Juvenile Court to show 'compassion' to the schoolgirl, DailyMail.com can reveal.
So far more than 470 people have signed the plea, which claims the incident 'being used to define her character and incite racial divisions and political strife with the MO AG calling on the courts to charge her as an adult.'
Missouri Attorney General
Andrew Bailey previously warned the brutality was a result of an obsession with woke DEI policies and the soft-touch approach to justice under former St. Louis DA Kim Gardner and current Rep Cori Bush, a hardline progressive Democrat.
He also called for the girl to be charged as an adult if Kaylee does not survive the attack, something which supporters of her attacker have lashed out at.
A Change.org petition has been set up to support the teenager, calling on the St Louis Juvenile Court to show 'compassion' to the schoolgirl, DailyMail.com can reveal
The petition adds: 'Prior to an incident on March 8th where she was seen defending herself from harassment and bullying, she had never been in trouble. Her work as a scholar was tainted by the bullying she had to endure at school.
'It is unjust that such an accomplished young woman should be charged as an adult for assault without considering all the facts of the case that led to the incident where harm occurred.
'We request that all aspects of her life be considered during indictment and sentencing – her academic achievements, extracurricular involvement, linguistic skills and most importantly her victimhood as a bullied student who was merely defending herself under intense and flight vs fight circumstances.
'But because politicians are inserting themselves in a juvenile matter it has completely swayed public opinion and has incited more divisiveness not only in the local community but nationally.'
The petition also claims that the family of the teenager have been subject to 'multiple racist death threats' and 'doxxing'.
The webpage calls the incident 'one mistake made under duress', adding that the focus should 'be to pray for the healing and reconciliation of both parties'.
'This truly was a teenage fight that should've never happened to begin with, but did and spun completely out of control', it added.
The petition is addressed to Chief Juvenile Officer Rick Gaines, and needs 500 signatures to escalate the issue to his office. By Thursday morning it had 502 signatures.
However a spokesman told DailyMail.com that only the judge presiding over the case can rule if the teen is charged as an adult, not Gaines, and the court is unable to comment any further.
Gregory Smith, the attorney for the suspect, did not respond to requests for comment on the fundraiser and petition.
Gain's grandmother shared a post that said: '[You] ever just cry yourself to sleep begging God to heal everything you're going [through]', captioning it 'everyday right now'
But he said in a statement that his client is a Hazelwood East School District student who was on the honor roll, played in the orchestra and on the school's volleyball team.
'I believe all of the facts and circumstances of this incident are not appropriate to discuss at this time when another child is in such a critical condition,' Smith added.
'Those facts and circumstances will have their day in court. I join the call to denounce teen violence and bullying. And most importantly, I join my client and her family in extending our prayers for this family and their child.'
Kaylee's family says it wants 'justice through the legal system' – but
pleaded with other teenagers not to retaliate against her alleged attacker.
Her devastated relatives said Monday they won't know the extent of her injuries until she wakes up in a statement through their lawyer and have raised more than $300,000 for her medical bills.
They confirmed Kaylee suffered 'a fractured skull that
resulted in brain bleeding and swelling' and she still has not regained consciousness 10 days later.
'Although the family would like justice to eventually be served through the legal system, their focus at this time is dedicated exclusively to Kaylee's recovery', her family said in a statement through their lawyer.
'The family also asks all members of the community at large to come together to denounce teen violence and bullying as there have been far too many recent examples of teen violence that have resulted in significant injuries, and even deaths in some instances.
'Kaylee's parents want to make a special request to their fellow parents in the community to ask them to reinforce to their children that physical violence and bullying are never appropriate, and to emphasize to their children that lives of both the perpetrators of teen violence and the victims of violence can be permanently and forever changed as a result of violent incidents that last only a few minutes.
'Lastly, the family wants to emphasize that they do not want any retaliation of any kind to occur toward anyone that was either directly or indirectly involved in this incident.'
Kaylee's family say want 'justice through the legal system' – but pleaded with other teenagers not to retaliate against her alleged attacker
The statement ends by asking for prayers for Kaylee's 'full recovery' and hopes that 'teenagers realize that momentary violent actions can have life-altering consequences' through reading about the highly-publicized attack.
Video of the incident circulated on social media showing another girl bashing the teen's head into the concrete after throwing multiple punches and sending her careening to the ground.
Kaylee appeared to begin to have a seizure as groups of other teens brawled just feet away.
Police found the girl suffering from a serious head injury near the intersection of Norgate Drive and Claudine Drive, roughly a five-minute walk from the high school campus. She was taken to the hospital and remains in critical condition.
After news of the altercation broke, the Hazelwood School District released a statement condemning violence within the community.
'It is a tragedy anytime children are hurt,' the statement read. 'Bullying and fighting in the community is an issue for which we all need to take ownership and work towards a resolution for the sake of our children.
'The Hazelwood School District offers our sincerest condolences to everyone involved and will offer additional emotional support from our support and crisis team to those in need.'
