Photo: Tippah County Sheriff's Office
A Mississippi man was arrested after a viral video shows him allegedly trying to strike Black children with his vehicle, according to WHBQ.
Reporters learned the incident happened Sunday (July 24) on Cooper Street in Ripley. The city's police department identified the driver in the video as Mark Hall, who's heard saying, "Aw, hell, get a few points," as he drives toward the group of Black kids riding their bikes. After the children swerve to dodge Hall's vehicle, the white man then laughs and calls them "stupid n*****."
Parents of the children and angry community members flocked to Ripley Police Tuesday morning (July 26), demanding them to charge Hall for his dangerous stunt. One of the kids say the vehicle clipped his bike, while a couple more had to jump into a ditch, per WREG.
“He could have hurt those guys. He could have killed somebody or anything, but he had no regard for those Black lives that were out there,” Clarence Holmes, the father of a child in the video, told reporters. “We are living in a time that is supposed to be progressive. We are supposed to be progressive people, but we are still dealing with the same things that we were dealing with back when my grandparents and great grandparents were around.”
Jakai Holmes, one of the teens riding their bikes, says they were just having fun in the final days of summer.
“It wasn’t right, we are just trying to go around and be kids and ride our bikes around the neighborhood and be together," Holmes said. "It’s sad that people will try to take your fun away from you."
Now, Hall is facing nine counts of simple assault and one count of attempted by physical menace to create fear.
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