US man who killed teen over rap music indicted for murder
Last updated on: 12 July,2019 09:03 am
Killing prompted an outcry on social media with the hashtag #JusticeforElijah trending on Twitter.
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - A white man who killed a black teen in Arizona because he felt threatened by the victim’s rap music has been indicted for first-degree murder, authorities said Thursday.
Michael Adams allegedly slit Elijah Al-Amin’s throat in an unprovoked attack at a convenience store in the town of Peoria, outside Phoenix, on July 4.
He had been released from prison just two days earlier on another assault conviction.
According to court documents, Adams, 27, told detectives that prior to the attack, he had observed the teen listening to rap music in the parking lot and felt threatened by the boy’s music.
"Adams stated that rap music made him feel unsafe, because in the past he has been attacked by people (blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans) who listen to rap music," according to the court documents.
In an emotional news conference on Thursday, Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery described the killing as senseless and said the teen had done nothing to warrant the attack that took his life.
"What makes this offense so tragic," he said, fighting back tears, "is we have a 17-year-old who did absolutely nothing.
"He was just there shopping," he added.
Adams’s attorney told the judge in the case that he suffered from mental illness and needed medical help rather than to be placed in a jail cell.
"This is a disabled person and he has been released into the world and left to fend for himself," Jacie Cotterell said, accusing the prison system of failing her client.
The killing prompted an outcry on social media with the hashtag #JusticeforElijah trending on Twitter.
"Another one of our children has been murdered in a heinous and unprovoked way -- the DOJ must investigate this hate crime immediately. RIP Elijah," tweeted Democratic presidential candidate Cory Booker on Monday.
Family members said Al-Amin would have turned 18 in two weeks and had been looking forward to finishing high school next year.