Three members of a family were arrested in Atlanta after an Instagram live video went viral on Sunday, July 18, 2021, showing them physically and verbally abusing a 12-year-old boy while trimming the word “gay” into his hair.
The video clearly shows an adult hitting and pushing a young boy while insulting and threatening him.
“The video, recorded from an Instagram Live on June 17, appeared to show the young boy being struck by members of his family,” 11 Alive wrote. “It also appeared to show the word gay cut on the side of his head with clippers, supposedly as a punishment.”
The Atlanta Police Department quickly located and arrested three members of the family and placed the boy with the Georgia Division of Family and Children’s Services.
Brittney Monique Mills, 35, and Lorkeyla Jamia Spencer, 19, are in the Fulton County Jail on a single charge of cruelty to children. Jarrode Richards-Nwankwo, 18, was also taken into custody on charges of cruelty to children and battery-family violence, according to the police statement obtained by 11 Alive Atlanta.
“The behavior in this social media post was difficult to watch and is absolutely unacceptable,” the statement said. “We are appreciative of the number of people who flagged this case with us and for those who provided information on the location where it took place. Our investigators worked hard to identify those involved and to gather the evidence needed to place each behind bars and we are thankful for their work.”
Atlanta City Council candidate Devin Barrington Ward, who is gay, spoke to the child and said he is being traumatized twice — once for being the victim of interfamilial abuse, and now being removed from his family.
Check out the full report below.
