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Family of teenage assault victim wants hate crime charges

Posted at 7:28 PM, Jul 12, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-12 22:34:52-04

The family of a Gatesville teen that was tied up wants the suspect to face more extreme charges. 

The family of the victim of the aggravated assault by Mark Barrow should be considered a hate crime.

The family said, through spokesperson Thomi Perryman, that Barrow reacted violently towards the teenager because he was black.

The family has already contacted a NAACP attorney as well as the Coryell County District Attorney’s office.

Perryman said that the attack on the teenaged boy could have been much worse.

“It seems like it could've been if it gone to be a possible lynching,” Perryman said.  This is why myself and the family is so upset.”

Coryell County District Attorney Dusty Boyd said that police are still investigating Barrow’s motives to see if the attack was racially driven.

Barrow was charged with aggravated assault and kidnapping last week after returning home to find his niece watching movies with the teen.

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