Thursday, March 28, 2024

Biracial Family Says 8-Year-Old Son Was Hung From a Tree by White Teens, Cops Investigating

Lyrik Martin Facebook screenshot
Lyrik Martin Facebook screenshot

*Police in New Hampshire are investigating after an 8-year-old biracial boy was allegedly hung from a tree by white teens on Aug. 28.

In photos shared on Facebook by the child’s mother, Cassandra Merlin, the boy is seen with severe rope burn and cuts on his neck.

“So my son is being flown to Dartmouth after a 14 year old kid decided to hang him from a tree,” she wrote in the now-deleted post, according to NH1. “I don’t care if this was a so called accident or not. My son almost died.”

Lyrik Martin Facebook screenshot

In a follow-up post on Thursday, Merlin said her son could no longer go outside and play because of the incident and suggested the attack was racially motivated.

“It truly saddens me that even in a city so small, racism exists. My son used to love being able to go to the park with his older sister and shoot some hoops! Now, he’s not even allowed to go outside without me,” she wrote. “It sad (sic) that in a city we considered to be safe, we aren’t safe at all.”

According to NH1, Claremont Police Chief said he couldn’t comment on the investigation because those involved are juveniles and “these people need to be protected.” He also wouldn’t say whether authorities are looking at the case a hate crime.

The 8-year-old’s grandmother Lorrie Slattery told the Valley News, who first reported the incident, that her grandson was playing in a yard with teenagers, who then started calling him racial slurs and throwing rocks and sticks at his legs.

Some or all of the teens allegedly stepped up on a picnic table and grabbed a nearby rope that had been part of a tire swing, Slattery said.

“The [teenagers] said, ‘Look at this,’ supposedly putting the rope around their necks,” Slattery said. “One boy said to [her grandson], ‘Let’s do this,’ and then pushed him off the picnic table and hung him.”

The boy swung back and forth by his neck three times before he was able to remove the rope; Slattery said none of the teens came to his aid.

The boy’s uncle Lyrik Merlin wrote about the incident that same day, sharing one of the same images and writing: “My nephew was hung from a tree by a 14yr old who claims ‘it was an accident,’” he wrote. “I don’t care what kind of excuse this teenager has but you DO NOT play with somebody’s life.”

He followed up with another Aug 29 post: “You know what is the most sick part about what happened to my nephew?” he wrote. “My first thought was that somebody did something to him because he’s biracial.”

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