TIPPAH COUNTY, Miss. — A north Mississippi man faces charges after a video shows him allegedly attempting to run over teenagers riding bicycles.
Mark Hall has been charged with nine counts of simple assault-attempt by physical menace to create fear.
Many in the Ripley, Mississippi community are outraged after the video circulated on social media. The teens said they were riding on Cooper Street near downtown Ripley when a truck came up behind them.
“I’m riding my bike,” Jeremiah Crum said. “The first thing that I said was ‘Jabari move.'”
Hall
can be heard in the video saying “finna get a few points” before driving through the group at 37 miles per hour.
“When we seen him coming, Jeremiah and Jabari had to run into the ditch,” Austin Hill said. “And he clipped the back of Jeremiah’s bike damaging the front wheel.”
As Hall passes by, he is heard laughing before calling the kids a racial slur.
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“It’s still people that’s like that in the world,” Crum said. “Even though you don’t want to see it, you have to accept the truth and what it is that it’s still people like that in the community.”
Parents, on the other hand, are upset.
“My son should be able to live his life, to grow up and to be a productive young man,” Willie Hill said. “Not to fear if he is going to be mowed down by someone that has complete disregard because his tan is darker than his.”
Some parents filed charges, and dozens of people showed up to City Hall Tuesday morning to voice their concerns.
“We’re sitting here trying to figure out two days later, what if,” Hill said. “It’s unacceptable. And honestly, I am not going to be quiet about it.”
WREG attempted to reach out to Mark Hall for comment but was unsuccessful.
“I believe no charges would have been charged against him, but our presence, our concern for our young men,” Miriam Anderson said. “Whether they are fine young men or not, no one should have to encounter an incident like that.”