N.J. teens hurled racial slurs but did not urinate on anyone at football game, police say

Authorities say no evidence was obtained to support allegations anyone was urinated on at a high school football game in the New Jersey suburb of Lawrence Township but that “racially derogatory language” was used during an alleged bias attack last month.

Investigators obtained evidence that supports allegations that students had some type of liquid, possibly water or soda, not urine, thrown in their direction while they were in the vicinity of the auxiliary/overflow section of the bleachers at Lawrence Township High School on Oct 18, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office and Lawrence Township police said in a statement Friday.

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There is also evidence to support allegations that “racially derogatory language” was used by the 17-year-old defendants toward the victims — four African American middle schoolgirls — during the incident, police said. The investigation identified a third suspect who faces a charge of harassment. All three suspects are of Indian descent.

The prosecutor’s office and police said they were able to establish this information through witness statements, interviews and by reviewing video footage.

The incident occurred during the third quarter of the game and was partly captured on a video that circulated on social media.

Lawrence Township Police Chief Brian Caloiaro described the allegations as “egregious” at a news conference last month. Caloiaro said he learned about the incident from a Facebook post written by the mother of one of the middle schoolers, who said her daughter was among a group of girls urinated on and called the N-word in the stands at the event. Detectives then interviewed the mother and the four girls who gave formal statements to police.

Lawrence High School in New Jersey.Google Maps

The two defendants arrested last month were both charged with four counts of bias intimidation and four counts of harassment, and one was also charged with two counts of lewdness.

Lawrence Township is about 40 miles north of Philadelphia.

source: nbcnews.com