Charlotte NAACP chapter demands answers in Ardrey Kell fight
Charlotte’s chapter of the the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is calling for more clarity over a controversial fight that happened last month at Ardrey Kell High School.
The fight involved a 15-year-old girl and boy. The girl’s family said she suffered significant injuries and alleged she was targeted due to her race and religion, but the boy’s family said that’s not true.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said there was no evidence of a hate crime.
PAST COVERAGE: Family calls for change after fight at local high school
In a statement released last week, the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office said no information was presented to them to show a potential federal violation.
“While we understand the concern surrounding such incidents, federal authorities initiate investigations and begin to take investigative steps, including conducting interviews, after an initial assessment of the available information indicates a potential federal violation,” the statement said. “At this time, there is no indication that the conduct implicates any federal laws, and in particular, federal hate crimes laws.”
Channel 9′s Erika Jackson reports Charlotte’s NAACP chapter wants clarity on the situation and they also hope to calm the tensions in in the city’s Black and Muslim communities.
The NAACP said people have sent the boy’s family death threats and defaced their home.
The girl’s supporters disagrees with CMPD’s findings suggesting there was no evidence of a hate crime and want authorities to release more information on the ruling.
But the boy’s family told Channel 9 the fight was instigated by the girl and that no racially charged words were exchanged.
“We also have no hatred and no ill will towards any ethnic group. We’re multiethnic ourselves in our household, and so we teach our children those same values,” the boy’s father said.
The NAACP is set to speak outside of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center Friday at 11 a.m.
Check wsoctv.com for updates.
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