Biker group shows support for girl allegedly bullied and threatened for being gay

The Las Cruces community united to show support for a middle school girl, who according to her mother, was bullied for being gay.

Over the weekend, a video went viral online, showing 11-year-old Savannah Tirre being punched by another girl several times at Zia Middle School after school on Friday. The video was shared by Savannah’s grandmother with an explanation of who they are and what was happening.

Chelsea Tirre, Savannah’s mother, was told by another student she was going to be jumped and Savannah told administrators, “She was walking to Boys and Girls club van at the end of the day, after the bell rang, and this young lady jumped her from behind.”

That video spread like wildfire, with many people showing their love and support for Savannah.

Savannah’s mother shared a threat posted on social media on Monday. The message states, “This little girl is about to get jumped Monday again so get your phones out she is acting all big and bad when she is not like she is just a little lesbian that can go expletive die.” Savannah and the school also received a threat from a man in El Paso, causing the school to go on a shelter-in-place and escorts walked Savannah from class to class.

Tuesday morning, Savannah and her brother were escorted to Zia by the Guardians of Children, a motorcycle group who spreads an anti-bullying message.

Wilie Johnson, AKA Big Guy, told ABC-7, “We got to the stop sign and Anderson (Savannah’s brother) yelled at Savannah, ‘Savannah this is awesome” and it’s something I’ll never forget. It was amazing.”

The Doña Ana County Democratic Delegation of the House of Representatives issued a statement Tuesday which said in part, “We honor Savannah’s courage and bravery. As your Representatives, we stand against bigotry and violence in all forms. We stand with Savannah.”

A Las Cruces print shop, Print This LLC, created shirts for the community to buy for $10.Chelsea said she spoke witht the Assistant Superintendent and she said she was happy with the conversation.

The district sent out this statement:

“While we are unable to comment on matters pertaining to specific students, we take all reports of bullying very seriously and address them in accordance with the district’s policies and regulations. The safety and well-being of all students is our top concern.”