‘Outrageous’: White Teen Forces Black Boy to Do Jumping Jacks at Gunpoint, Pistol Whips Him and Threatens to Kill Him—Cops Call It ‘Simple Assault’
Disturbing video footage that has been widely circulated on social media shows a white teenager in Mississippi forcing a Black boy to do jumping jacks at gunpoint while shouting racial slurs and threatening to kill him. The viral video shows a white 16-year-old teenager point a gun at a 13-year-old Black boy, calling him a "b**** a** n****," and ordering him to do jumping jacks while threatening to "pop" his "a**," before accusing him of making romantic advances at his girlfriend. Family of 13-year-old Black boy demanding harsher punishment for white teen who threatened their loved one. (Credit: WCBI/Onlyonelequila/IG) He then hits the boy on the side of his head with the gun and orders him to "run home." The boy is seen running away while the teen calls after him, threatening to kill him if he talks to his girlfriend again. The incident reportedly happened in Columbus, Mississippi. The victim has since been identified as 13-year-old Jaryan Cox. Cox's mother accused the teen of luring her son out of his home at gunpoint, then assaulting him. The Lowndes County Sheriff's Office arrested the assailant on Aug. 3 after the video began circulating on social media. Deputies charged him with misdemeanor simple assault and minor in possession of a weapon, charges that sparked fury and demonstrations among members of the community who thought they were too lenient given the teen's heinous conduct. View this post on Instagram A post shared by LAQULIA SHUNTEL (@onlyonelaqulia) Cox's mother called the charges a "slap on the wrist," and said that her child was "traumatized" by the incident. She added that if roles were reversed, law enforcement would have treated the case with more severity. ‘You Need to Go!’: Entitled White Woman Tries to Evict Family from Beach, Claiming It’s Private Property, Then Realizes She Can’t Call the Cops, Video Shows “When he pulled that gun and threatened my child’s life, that was aggravated assault with a deadly weapon,” the mother said. “That would have been done (to my child). My child would be so far under the jail right now, he could sip tea with the devil. He’s 13. They would have still charged him as an adult.” The family has transferred Cox to another school and says he's currently undergoing counseling. The sheriff's office has not released the suspect's identity at this time. They told local news affiliates that he lives in Caledonia, which is less than 20 miles from Columbus. The suspect's mother told WCBI that the family turned the teen in and surrendered the gun to local law enforcement as soon as they saw the video. His family has requested the court to keep him in custody while the investigation continues. “I’m sorry for everything that’s happened,” the mother said. Local authorities say the teen's charges could be upgraded to felonies based on his criminal history and depending on the results of a grand jury's review of the case. “The video is so disturbing that I could definitely see a grand jury saying, if (the victim) had any type of injury and the fact that a gun was used, that could be aggravated assault,” District Attorney Scott Colom said. Days after the teen's arrest, nearly 100 protesters attended the "We Will Be Heard Protest," where family members made fiery pleas for fair treatment of Black victims in the criminal justice system. “I hope y'all hear our hearts. I hope y'all hear our anger, the rage that we have," Cox's aunt, Laqulia Shinn, said. We just want justice, and we want fair justice. We want him to be treated as if he was Jaryan, if Jaryan did it." Shinn has been actively posting updates on her Instagram page including the raw footage of the incident. New Jersey Commissioner Roz Thompson was moved by one of the posts, calling it "Outrageous." Some community members have raised questions about whether the incident qualifies as a hate crime. "If there’s evidence he did it because of race, that’s one thing. If the evidence shows it stemmed from another motive, that complicates it," Colom added. https://www.youtube.com/watch?vADkfIciC_OQ&ab_channelWCBI
