MUNCIE, Ind. -- Police said five women, four of them Ball State University students, brutally attacked another woman and then bragged on the Internet about what they had done.

The attack happened in an off-campus neighborhood on North Maplewood Avenue on Oct. 7, 6News' Renee Jameson reported.

The students, Rene Whiteley, Ashley Kirkman, Kari Streib, Alysse Popov and a friend, Amanda Polson, are charged with battery with serious bodily injury, a Class C felony.

Investigators said they attacked a 20-year-old Ivy Tech student, who told police she was grabbed by the throat, pushed to the ground and kicked all over her body, shattering her elbow.

"We do have information about them boasting, laughing about it," said Muncie police Detective Jami Brown. "I think she's really worried about retaliation from the girls. They're getting blocked calls on their phones, and they think it's the girls that are doing that."

Brown said the attack stemmed from the victim's friend going out with a boyfriend of one of the suspects some time ago.

"This whole thing has gained momentum over time, and I don't know if the girls really know what they're fighting over in the first place," Brown said.

Police said some of the women bragged about the beating on social networking site Facebook, referring to the entire incident as a joke.

"That's how we got the girl to identify the attackers was by using Facebook," Brown said.

Ball State University officials said they will investigate the incident and that the students could be expelled before they get their day in court.