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Kansas boy, 12, beats 11-year-old girl with pipe and yells racial slurs after she says 'my black is beautiful'

The boy beat the girl on her face with a metal pipe in what her family is now calling a racially motivated attack, he is now under house arrest

OLATHE, KANSAS: A 12-year-old Kansas boy is facing criminal charges for allegedly beating up an 11-year-old girl. The boy beat the girl on her face with a metal pipe in what her family is now calling a racially motivated attack.

The young girl Nevaeh Thomas' mother said that the boy, who has not been named due to his age, yelled out racial slurs at Nevaeh while she was playing outside in Kansas City on August 28, WDAF-TV said. Nevaeh had reportedly told the boy "my black is beautiful" after which the boy hit her in the face with a pipe. Nevaeh was left with a gash on her cheek and as of August 31. The incident had reportedly taken place during a play date, Fox4 reveals. Nevaeh's mother revealed that the boy had walked up to her while she was playing and called her many racial slurs. 

He then hit the young girl in the face. The boy was charged with aggravated battery and is currently under house arrest. The girl's family attorney LaRonna Lassiter-Saunders said, "It’s time to change. Change yourself, hold your family, your neighbors, your friends accountable." Saunders, who wants the courts to be fair, added, "That’s not for us to decide his intention behind it. All we know is that he used racial slurs, he hit this little girl. I do want to say to the public and America in general… we’ve done a lot of talking. Now it’s time to act." 

Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe also shared that his office was working on getting to the bottom of what led to the child using racial slurs and then attacking the girl. Howe said, "Probably one of the chief things that the court wants to do is get an evaluation to determine what are the underlying factors that are causing this behavior." Given the accused is a minor, Howe was not able to give away too many details on the case. However, he did point out that he has been seeing many children acting out recently. "One of the things that we have seen through this whole shut down and Covid-19 is kids have been acting out. Luckily, most of the behavior is pretty minor behavior," he said. 

Many social media users reacted to the news of the attack in horror and outrage. One such user shared, "When you have a white supremacist in office who galvanizes his base with racist rhetoric and they then pass on these beliefs to their children, the result is situations like this. I pray she overcome this and I’m glad her parents taught her well. Your black is beautiful."

Another added, "Her name is Heaven backwards. Your Black IS beautiful, baby girl. Racists know that. Envy takes all kinds of evil and violent forms. We'll make sure that no one breaks your spirit. You are loved and supported, to the absolute fullest, Nevaeh. So so sorry this happened to you."

"Prayers and well wishes for a full recovery for this sweet child. I hope the young boy receives mental help in addition to whatever his punishment will be and is placed with adults committed to teaching, modeling, and 'unlearning' social, ethical, and moral behavior," wrote yet another.