The parents of a teenager accused of being involved in the near hanging of an 8-year-old biracial boy in New Hampshire insist what happened was a tragic accident and was not motivated by racism.
In an interview with Newsweek published Saturday, the teen's parents say he tried to startle the 8-year-old-boy into jumping off a picnic table on Aug. 28, not realizing the boy had a rope around his neck.
The 8-year-old's grandmother says the teenager was part of a group that taunted him with racial slurs and pushed him off the table. The boy was treated at a hospital for neck injuries and was released.
The case is being reviewed by the New Hampshire attorney general's office to determine whether it is a hate crime or a civil rights violation.
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