As crowd looks on, bikini-clad mob beats woman

A woman injured in a fight with three other women near Saluda River earlier this month said a large crowd stood by and did nothing during the incident.

“No one defended me, out of the 30 people that were hanging around – which is really pathetic in my eyes,” said the victim, a Lexington County resident who asked not to be identified by name.

Arlinda Craft, 18, Anns Leigh Hill, 19, and Megan Williams, 20, have been charged with assault and battery by a mob in connection with the March 15 incident, the Columbia Police Department announced Monday.

“Possible additional charges are being evaluated,” police spokeswoman Jennifer Timmons said. “We have consulted with the 5th Circuit Solicitor regarding the case.”

The victim said all she knew the three women from high school, and that Williams and Craft bullied her in school. It culminated in an incident when the victim was in 10th grade.

“I got my point across, they didn’t mess with me for the longest time,” she said. “There was a fight, after they bullied me for so long.”

Before the fight at the river, the victim said she hadn’t seen Williams since Halloween.

“Megan said, ‘Why you been talking (bad) about me?’ I hadn’t seen her in months,” she said.

One woman pulled the victim up by her hair, then threw her to the ground with the help of the other two suspects, the victim told police.

In a video the victim said shows the assault, three women can be seen beating a woman lying on the ground, while another woman appears to try to break the fight up.

One man can be heard in the video telling someone not to interfere or else he would knock them out.

The victim suffered a concussion and a broken nose, she said.

Though the three women have been charged, the victim said she is concerned for her safety.

“They paid their bond and they are out roaming the streets as we speak,” she said.

This story was originally published March 30, 2016 at 10:49 AM with the headline "As crowd looks on, bikini-clad mob beats woman."