In this Thursday, Sept. 27, 2007 picture, Mychal Bell, one of the Jena Six, appears at a news conference after leaving LaSalle Parish Courthouse in Jena, La. Bell, 18, was arrested Christmas Eve and booked on a shoplifting charge, police said Monday, Dec. 29, 2008. He was freed on $1,300 bond following his arrest at a mall in Monroe, La. He also was booked on charges of resisting arrest and simple assault. (AP Photo/Kita Wright)
By The Associated Press
MONROE, La. — Police say one of the teenagers arrested in the “Jena Six” case has been taken to the hospital after shooting himself in the chest.
Monroe, Louisiana, police Sgt. Cassandra Wooten says Mychal Bell’s wound isn’t life-threatening.
Wooten says the 18-year-old wounded himself around 7:40 p.m. in Monroe. He’s been staying with a foster family there.
Wooten believes Bell was upset over media coverage of his arrest last week on a shoplifting charge.
He was one of six black teens charged with beating a white classmate at Jena High School in December 2006. The case aggravated racial tensions in the central Louisiana town and led to a massive civil rights demonstration.
Bell pleaded guilty in juvenile court to a charge of second-degree battery.
2 responses so far ↓
1 Maine // Dec 30, 2008 at 2:57 pm
If this is true, I am truly embarressed 4 partially advocating 4 him during the whole “jena 6″ situation. He needs help, like so many of our young men!
2 Smooth // Dec 31, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Did our help for him stopped when the news coverage stopped. To be separeated from your parents and hometown has to be depressing for him, this is no excuse for shop lifting. Yes he does need help, how can we help him and other young balck males?
Leave a Comment