Mississippi man arrested for trying to run over Black teens

Close-up - Hand of man driving car on the road.
Close-up - Hand of man driving car on the road. Photo credit Getty Images

A man from Ripley, Mississippi who is accused of trying to run over a group of Black teenagers on their bikes with his car was arrested on Monday, according to multiple reports.

The alleged white driver, identified as Mark Hall, posted a video of himself driving by the group of teenagers and can be heard saying a racial slur, according to WHBQ-TV.

In the video obtained by the news station, Hall said, "Aw, hell, 50 points," as he sped past the group.

As the teenagers moved out of the way, Hall then laughed and said, "Stupid (N-word)."

The incident occurred on Sunday, as Hall booked into Tippah County Jail on Monday and charged with nine counts of simple assault and one count of attempt of physical menace to create fear, according to WAPT. He is being held on $45,000 bond, according to WMC-TV.

None of the teenagers were injured in the racist incident.

According to WHBQ-TV, a group of parents appeared outside of the Ripley Police Department on Tuesday and demanded that Hall gets charged more for the incident.

"I think people like that should get what they deserve when they do stuff like this," parent Jimmy Brooks, who's two sons were in the group, told WMC-TV. "I don’t feel sorry for anyone who does stuff like this. And this community will not keep quiet about anything like that going on around here."

"If that is all he can be charged for, I guess I will be satisfied, Brooks added. "But I am looking to see if there’s more because these are innocent kids on the streets playing, no business for a grown person to do something like that. I see no reason for that to happen at all."

One of the teenagers, Jakai Holmes, said he and his friends were just riding their bikes around when Hall sped down the street at them.

"It wasn't right, we are just trying to go around and be kids and ride our bikes around the neighborhood and be together and it’s sad that people will try to take your fun away from you," Holmes said.

Holmes' father, Clarence Holmes, expressed his displeasure with the incident and said that Hall "had no regard for those Black lives that were out there."

"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," Holmes said. "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."

Featured Image Photo Credit: Getty Images