A woman was arrested for a hate crime after she punched a 6-year-old Korean boy while spewing racist speech just outside a shopping center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Following the woman's violent attack on the child, the boy's mother followed her into the mall to film her continuing rant.
The video, which was originally posted to TikTok, later surfaced on Twitter, where it has gone viral.
@uhmmajo I hope the cops picked her up. Mall security just let her go. Yes, we are pressing charges. #crystalsmall #arialasvegas #fyp #assault
People who saw the clip, which showed the woman screaming unintelligible things about "China" before turning around and being escorted away by mall security, voiced pure outrage.
Others excused the woman's behavior citing mental health struggles or chemical dependency.
However disability rights advocates point out though mental illness and substance abuse might lessen inhibitions, neither transforms people into racists.
Racism should not be blamed on mental illness or addiction as it stigmatizes people diagnosed with either and excuses the perpetrator's racist beliefs.
According to NextShark, who spoke with the boy's mother, her son is "shaken up but is doing okay."
The family—the boy, his mother and his sister—called the police and waited with supportive sales representatives until police arrived.
The mother described how shocked her husband was when he saw her reaction.
"He said he had never seen us that angry before and hopes we never get that angry with him. It startled him so much to see us that way—I can't imagine how traumatized he would be if we actually got physically violent."
The suspect, identified as Shelly Hill, has been charged with battery and a hate crime. She is being held on $3,000 bail and must appear in court this Sunday, Yahoo! News reported.
The boy's mother told NextShark she expects it to take some time for the whole family to move past what happened.
We hope the family finds nothing but peace.
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