A white man has been arrested after a video of him physically attacking a young Black woman who says he called her a racial slur and told her he would hang her went viral on social media.
The victim's mother, Carletta Thomas, took to Facebook to share video footage of the incident, which took place at a gas station in Collegeville, Pennsylvania on Feb. 16.
Strickland Yelled Racial Slurs, Told Her He'll Hang Her Outside the Store
Thomas noted in the caption that the man, identified as Micheal Strickland of Norristown, attacked her 19-year-old daughter after bumping into her inside the store, where she was employed. She added that when her daughter confronted the man for running into her, he turned around and started yelling racial slurs and told the teenager that he would hang her outside the store.
According to the mother, at this point the teenager pulled out her cellphone and started recording. The video starts off with Strickland telling the Thomas' daughter to "back off" before she speaks into the camera, claiming the man called her the n-word. Strickland is then seen approaching the teen from behind and hitting her on the back of the head. Thomas claims her daughter had to receive medical attention and suffered a concussion from the assault.
The video instantly went viral on social media with netizens demanding justice for the young woman in the video.
"This scum bag need to be put away. Do not let him get away without getting charged for a hate crime...This has to be punished!" wrote one user.
"Unacceptable to put your hands on anyone, but a Black woman and say you'll hang her, you need to have your entire life ruined," commented another.
Strickland Arrested, Charged
Strickland, 41, was reported to the local police and was arrested on Feb. 17. According to court documents, he has been charged with assault, making terroristic threats with the intent to terrorize another, ethnic intimidation and harassment. His bail has been set at $5,000 and a preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 28.
