While Dozens Gawked at Richmond Rape, One Brave Girl Called 911

(KPIX/CBS5)

RICHMOND, Calif. (CBS/KPIX) On Oct. 24, police say dozens of teens gawked, laughed and took photographs while a 15-year-old girl was brutally gang-raped and beaten outside a Richmond High School homecoming dance.

But one brave girl, who was not even there, wouldn't stand for it.

"I was watching a movie, and my brother-in-law came in and he told me 'I don't know what to do, because there is a girl back there and she has been raped. I'm scared,'" 18-year-old Margarita Vargas said.

"I'm like 'We should call the cops because that's the right thing to do.' I didn't think about it twice."

Vargas said she called police because she would want someone to do the same if she ever was in that situation.

After making the call, Vargas went to the scene to check on the girl.

"I could tell that she had been beat up because her face was swollen," Vargas said. "She was naked, didn't have shoes. They just covered her up and stuff."

The girl who was attacked is just a few years younger than the woman police now call the "Good Samaritan." Vargas said she would like to reach out to the victim again.

"I would like to talk to her. I would just, not to be nosey or stuff, but I would like to ask how she's feeling. I would want her to know that she can get through it. It will take awhile but she can get through it," she said.

Vargas said she would pick up that phone again and call for help. But she also understands why others won't.

"I think people are scared, especially in a community like this where 'snitching' is a big thing to people," she said.

Vargas said she does not believe there is such a thing as "snitching," especially in a case such as this. Calling for help, she said is just the right thing to do.

Story Contributed by CBS Affiliate KPIX

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