A mother in Indiana is speaking out after a disturbing video that was sent to her son via social media with a racial epithet.
Jennifer Jacobs of Goshen, Indiana says her 14-year-old son Kaden, who is biracial, received a video from his peers at Fairfield High School, targeting the teenager. In the video, the students can be heard using the N-word.
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The 10-second long video, shared by NBC News affiliate, WNDU, shows Kaden’s peers setting his hat on fire and calling him the derogatory term.
“When they burned the hat and said that, that symbolizes, to me, they put a cross in my yard and burned it,” Jacobs said. “Why would you record something like that and send it to a select group of people, why would you even want anybody to see it period?”
In a statement shared by the news agency, some of the parents whose children were in the video have expressed their upset at the “shocking” video.
“Upon learning about the actions of our children and the video that was made, we were not only shocked and disappointed but also embarrassed,” the statement read. “We do not condone racism or bullying in any way. This was a lack of maturity combined with anger and poor judgment on the part of the boys involved.”
The statement goes on to share that Jacobs sharing the video online has raised several safety concern, writing, “We do not believe as parents it is the right thing to do to persecute children on the internet.”
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The parents go on to note that Jacobs has “fueled hatred and lies” by posting the information on social media, adding that it is “not a bullying issue.”
“This was an isolated incident in which the boys made a poor choice,” the statement continued. “Her child was not threated with violence and his name was not mentioned. He has not been racially targeted.”
The parents go on to note that the video was “sent to an inbox on social media” and not meant for the “world to see.”
While the incident happened during the high school’s fall break, the school is currently investigating the case and looking to resolve the issue with the students seen in the video.
