Mississippi man arrested after viral video shows attempt to run over Black kids while using racial slur

Published: Jul. 26, 2022 at 10:20 PM CDT

RIPLEY, Miss. (WMC) - A Mid-South man’s viral video has landed him behind bars after what he reportedly said and did sparked outrage in his community.

On Sunday, Mark Hall posted a video of himself on his Snapchat story. The video cannot be shown due to copyright laws.

The video shows Hall from the driver’s seat of his car, heading down a street towards a group of nine Black teenagers on bicycles.

He laughs, saying “50 points!” The children rush to move out of the way to avoid being hit.

Hall then calls the children “stupid n*****s.”

“This is not tolerated anymore,” said parent Willie Hill. “We’re not brushing anything out of the rug. We’re not going to look the other way.”

Parents and residents are outraged after the nine teenage boys were nearly run down.

“I moved out the way just in time,” said 15-year-old Carmello Thomas. “And then he just kept going and I saw him laugh.”

Thomas says this all happened Sunday afternoon while he and his friends were out riding bikes around their neighborhood.

The teens say the driver did hit one of their bikes.

“I think people like that should get what they deserve when they do stuff like this,” said parent Jimmy Brooks. “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.”

Brooks’ two sons were among the group of friends.

Monday, Brooks and other parents pressed charges against the accused driver. He was charged with nine counts of enhanced simple assault.

“If that is all he can be charged for, I guess I will be satisfied,” said Brooks. “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.”

16-year-olds Jaki and Jeremiah Holmes had this message for the public:

“Pray and ask the Lord to forgive him,” said Jeremiah Holmes. “Pray for him. Be with them. I know what he did was wrong but forgive and forget.”

“I was never the type to be raised to hate somebody,” said Jaki Holmes. “I don’t have hatred in my heart. Everybody makes mistakes but you can always talk to God and get forgiveness.”

The Tippah County Sheriff’s Office says the charges are enhanced due to the actions and language allegedly used toward the teens.

Hall is being held on a $45,000 bond.

The Sheriff’s Office says they’ve reached out to federal officials about this investigation.

They also say more charges could come in the future.

Copyright 2022 WMC. All rights reserved.

Click here to sign up for our newsletter!

Click here to report a spelling or grammar error. Please include the headline.