An unnamed white man attacked and injured two black teenagers with a baseball bat in Flint, Michigan.
After the incident, the 14-year-old girl and her 15-year-old friend, who are both high school students, walked to a park and saw an unknown man who, according to police and family members, hit them multiple times.
Michigan State Police said the man, identified as 46-year-old Anthony Cromwell, allegedly shouted racial epithets before the attack, which police identified as a hate crime.
Police said a school resource officer located the attacker and took him into custody.
A 14-year-old girl was taken to a hospital after the attack. Her 14-year-old friend was taken to Hurley Medical Center to treat broken bones.
Cromwell has been charged with assault with intent to murder and assault with intent to do great bodily harm while using a dangerous weapon.
Surveillance footage captured the incident, according to Flint police. Police said the attacker was waiting in a car in the city’s north side.
The victim’s mother, Debbie Carter, told the Flint Journal that her daughter’s injuries were “pretty bad.” The youth’s name was not released.
“It shows who we are,” she said. “We are all human. We’re all humans. That’s the way I was raised and the way my son was raised — all of us are the same. That’s how I feel.”
