BILLINGS, MT – An 11-year-old Billings girl was attacked at Optimist Park after being told she was there to make a TikTok dance video, according to her family and Billings police. The assault happened Sunday night during a baseball game, just beyond the outfield fence, and was recorded and later posted to social media.
The girl, Ana Gernant, said she was punched and kicked dozens of times over more than two minutes. She said other children at the scene yelled for the attack to stop, but the violence continued. Her mother, Brittany Edlund, said the incident has left the family shaken and angry.
How the park confrontation began over a rumor
Ana said the attack grew out of a rumor and that she had only known one of the girls involved before arriving at the park. She said she believed she was meeting the group to film a dance clip for TikTok, not to be confronted in front of other children and families at the field.
In her account, the confrontation escalated quickly after she got to the park. Ana said she was beaten several times that day, and that the fight was tied to accusations that she had been “talking crap.” She also said one girl accused her of telling another to kill herself, a claim she rejected.
Mother says she already tried to separate her daughter from the group
Edlund said she had previously taken Ana out of school and moved her to another school in an effort to keep her away from the girls involved. She said she believed trouble was coming and tried to protect her daughter before the park attack happened.
Edlund also gave permission for hospital photos of Ana’s injuries to be shared. The pictures show the extent of the beating, and Edlund said seeing them made the situation even harder to process. She described her daughter simply as “my baby” and said the family is still trying to cope with what happened.
Police say anyone involved in recording the assault may face charges
Billings police investigators spoke with Brittany and Ana on Wednesday afternoon as the case continued to be reviewed. Police Sergeant Jeff Stovall said anyone involved in the attack could face criminal charges, including people who recorded the video instead of stepping in.
Stovall said bystanders can be charged as accomplices if they had a chance to intervene and did not. He said many young people do not realize that filming a crime can carry legal consequences. In his view, social media attention often fuels this kind of behavior, especially when phones are always nearby and the goal becomes getting clicks, views, or online approval.
The role social media played in the violence and the video
Police said the recording and posting of the attack is part of what makes the case so troubling. The incident did not end when the punches and kicks stopped; it was then pushed onto social media, where it could be seen and shared by others.
Stovall said that environment can encourage people to act out for attention rather than restraint. He said the expectation that everything should be filmed and posted has become deeply embedded in everyday life, and that it can make violent situations worse when no one tries to stop them.
Ana’s message to other kids after the assault
Despite the pain and humiliation of the attack, Ana said she has been thinking about what other young people should learn from what happened to her. Her advice was simple: trust your instincts and avoid people who have already gotten into repeated fights with you.
The case has drawn outrage in Billings because of the age of the victim, the setting at a neighborhood park, and the fact that the beating was recorded. For Ana and her family, the immediate concern is recovery, while police continue to examine who participated and what charges may follow.
