Beating Of S.I. Teen May Have Been Hate Crime
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A Staten Island teenager says he was beaten with a baseball bat Tuesday night by people chanting the name of President-elect Barack Obama. Now police are investigating it as a possible hate crime. Borough Reporter Amanda Farinacci filed the following story.Ali Kamara, 17, of New Brighton is not old enough to vote, but he says if he were, he'd have voted for Barack Obama.
The high school student says he was walking home from a friend's house Election Night, when he was badly beaten by a group of four white men, apparently angry because Obama won the presidency:
"A car came, before I even got there over there, a car was coming. I seen them, and then I stopped, they said ‘Obama.’ And then when I looked, they started beating me with a bat. And when I tried to run, they started chasing me," said Kamara.
Kamara says he managed to jump over a neighbor's fence to hide, but not before his cell phone was damaged as he used his hands to shield his face, and his foot was hit several times as well.
He says he called his mother before calling 911 and used a towel to stop the bleeding on his head and hands.
"He was talking so low, he say, 'Mama, Mama, where are you?' I say, 'I'm at work, why are you talking so low?' He says, 'I'm dying Mama, Mama, come and help me, Mama, I'm dying,'" said Jeneba Lapedo, Kamara's mother.
Kamara says he didn't hear any racial slurs from his attackers, just the name "Obama" repeated over and over. He was taken to Richmond University Hospital and treated for his injuries.
"He did receive a concussion. He was cut in the head and received two staples for his injuries. He states the word 'Obama' or something like 'This is for Obama,' was spoken," said Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.
Kamara's family is from Liberia and did not vote in the election. But they say they have grave concerns after the incident and say being unhappy with the new president is not a reason to be violent.
"What the children did was wrong and we're not supposed to do it," said Hawa Sheriff, Kamara's aunt. "That's the only thing I feel it's bad and we're not supposed to do it. Obama wins, whoever wins, pray for who's gonna lead the country, pray for who's gonna make everybody happy. If God choose Obama to be a leader, no one can change that."
The NYPD Hate Crime Unit was investigating the incident Thursday and said they had no suspects.