Told they weren’t welcome in the restaurant because they were white, anger over Mike Brown, followed from one restaurant to another, racial slurs yelled from the crowd, but according the the police chief, “it doesn’t appear to be a hate crime”.
WEST POINT, Miss. (AP) — West Point police said a man received life-threatening injuries in what they are investigating as an aggravated assault at a restaurant.
Ralph Weems IV, who was injured early Saturday, was in fair condition Sunday at North Mississippi Medical Center, hospital spokeswoman Genie Causey said without elaborating.
A relative, Bradley Barnes of Madison, told The Associated Press by telephone on Sunday that his brother-in-law was in a medically induced coma following brain surgery. “They’re going to try and wake him up tomorrow and see what damage was done,” Barnes said, describing Weems as a 32-year-old former Marine who had served in Iraq.
David Knighten of West Point told AP earlier by phone that he and Weems had gone to a Waffle House early Saturday. He said a man waved him over outside the restaurant and told him politely that people were upset by the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and it wasn’t a safe place for whites. When he went in, he said, Weems was inside and was arguing with other men.
They left after an argument that brought police, Knighten said. He said he showed those officers his .45-caliber handgun and his concealed carry permit.
Here’s a local account, which usually are more detailed. Notice how no race is mentioned, who slung the racial slurs is deliberately obscured.
Update:
The AP updated its story taking out the allegation that racial slurs were used during the attack. They also took out the information about the attack itself, including the attack on Knighten. Here is a copy of the full original story. They forget – the Internet is forever…
HT: Stoopid Housewives, AlyOop for update