Britta Greene / NHPR
The parents of a teenager involved in the alleged attack of a young boy in Claremont say the incident was an accident, and was not racially motivated.
Their son was just joking around, they told Newsweek in an interview. He saw the boy standing on the picnic table and thought he'd scare him from behind, they said. He did not know there was a rope around the boy's neck. The kids had been playing with the rope and climbing trees, the parents explained.
They said they've received death threats since the incident hit the news. The teenager's father said he's been assaulted twice.
Claremont police are investigating the incident with help from the state attorney general's office.
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