Christina GoFundMe: Family raises over $650,000 after 18-year-old beaten up in brutal SEPTA attack

The public has come out in support of Asian American girl Christina, who was the victim of an attack on SEPTA after she tried to stop bullying. A GoFundMe page has been set up for her and it has collected half a million dollars in less than 24 hours.

The GoFundMe page was set up by her mother YLin Chen and brother Michael Chen and named as Support Christina in Advocating for Public Safety. It collected almost $650,000 by the afternoon of November 20 from around 10,000 donors.

Christina was recently released from the hospital and still has to get mental health support from a therapist. Her family mentioned on their GoFundMe page that being her family, they would continue to protest against Asian hate crimes in the School District of Philadelphia. They added that they would advocate for the safety of school students availing of public transportation.

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What happened with Christina?

SEPTA reported that the incident with Christina happened on November 17 at 3:30 p.m. on the Broad Street Line near Erie Station. She was 18 years old and a senior at Central High School.

According to her aunt Mei Lu, while Christina was returning home, she saw a group of Black girls bullying a group of Asian American students from Central. While Christina tried to stop them, she was injured by the harassers and had to be hospitalized.

The authorities have asked SEPTA to increase security measures (Image by Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Transit Police Chief Thomas Nestel III said the culprits were identified within a day and they were between the ages of 13 to 16 years. Multiple charges were issued against them, including ethnic intimidation, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person, and disorderly conduct.

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One of the girls in the group also ran away from her home and her mother mentioned in an interview with NBC19 that she is embarrassed and ashamed of the actions of her daughter. The incident became a reason for people to unite in Philadelphia’s AAPI community.

Councilmember David Oh, also an Asian American and a Philadelphia political office elect, summoned SEPTA and the school district to put more emphasis on security measures.

It is unknown what Christina’s family is planning to do with the GoFundMe donations but wrote that it would help to look after the city’s public safety. Comments on the GoFundMe page described Christina as a hero, and according to her brother, her only wish is for students to be safe outside their homes.