White man arrested after video shows him trying to run Black children over, yelling racial slur

RIPLEY, Miss. — “Aw, hell, 50 points,” a man can be heard saying as a car speeds down a road filled with Black children riding their bikes.

Investigators in Ripley, Mississippi said that voice belonged to the alleged driver, Mark Hall.

In the video, the children swerve out of the way of the driver who then comments “Stupid (n-word)”.

That incident happened Sunday on Cooper Street in Ripley, parents told FOX13. Tuesday morning, those parents gathered at the Ripley Police Department demanding that Hall be charged for the racist and potentially deadly stunt.

Hall was arrested and now faces nine counts of simple assault and one count of attempted by physical menace to create fear.

“He could have hurt those guys. He could have killed somebody or anything, but he had no regard for those Black lives that were out there,” said Clarence Holmes, the father of a child in the video. “We are living in a time that is supposed to be progressive. We are supposed to be progressive people, but we are still dealing with the same things that we were dealing with back when my grandparents and great grandparents were around.”

Curt Cohea, 16, is another one of the boys who was riding down the street that day. He said he was simply trying to enjoy one of the last days of his summer when the driver sped towards them.

“I don’t think it was right because we weren’t harming anybody. We were just riding around town and getting some exercise on our off day from sports to stay in shape for school.”

Jakai Holmes was another one of those teens, experiencing what he said should have been a fun day.

“It wasn’t right, we are just trying to go around and be kids and ride our bikes around the neighborhood and be together and it’s sad that people will try to take your fun away from you,” Holmes said.

Willie Hill’s son was also part of the group. He was among the group of parents who took the case to the police.

“I shouldn’t be worrying about if they should be worried about being run off the road,” Hill said. “They should be worried about the next big game or worried about prom these are the things our kids should be worried about.