Ardrey Kell High School incident sparks hate crime claim

KYLIE MARSH | THE CHARLOTTE POST

An Ardrey Kell High School student presented facial swelling and a laceration over her eye after a violent confrontation with a classmate last week on campus. The beaten student, a Muslim girl who sustained broken bones in her face, reported her Black male classmate, used a racial epithet and told her to "go back to her country," according to family spokesman Jibril Hough. Charlotte-Mecklenburg NAACP President the Rev. Corinne Mack, said the boy and his family have been threatened and their home vandalized since the confrontation.

A Charlotte-Mecklenburg student and his family are facing death threats following a violent confrontation at Ardrey Kell High School.

The incident, which occurred last week, happened during a math class when a Black male allegedly assaulted his Muslim female classmate, breaking several bones in her face. Both students have been suspended.

The boy’s family contacted the Rev. Corinne Mack, president of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg NAACP, who said they have been threatened and their home vandalized since the incident.

“These are children,” she said. “It hurts my heart that the boy in this incident is being threatened by grown adults. It reminds me of lynchings of Black people.”

Jibril Hough, a spokesperson for the girl’s family, held a press conference Wednesday alleging CMS officials “threatened” them to not contact media about the incident.

In a press release, Hough wrote the alleged assailant used racial slurs toward the girl during class, called her a “terrorist” and told her to “go back to her country” prior to the incident.
Mack said the confrontation has caused division between the Black and Muslim communities.

“What was said at that press conference was not factual,” she said. 

The alleged victim’s family is seeking prosecution for a hate crime, calling on the FBI to take over the case. Mack contends the incident is not a federal case because the FBI does not handle incidents regarding minors.

“It’s out of the purview of the FBI when they’re children,” she said. “The adults inflamed a situation that should not have been inflamed.”

In a CMS press conference, public information officer Tim Ivey said district protocols and the student code of conduct were followed, including calling first responders, and the family were not told to remain silent. Hough said the girl’s mother was instructed to take her to the hospital.

Ivey didn’t answer further questions due to Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act regulations.

Mack said one of the students has been in detention and is “a problem child.” 

“It wasn’t the boy,” she said. “There was a bullying incident, but you’ve got the wrong student.”

Hough said the female student must undergo surgery to repair the broken bones. 

“I am hoping and praying for justice for the family and hoping and praying that nobody takes justice into their own hands,” he added.

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