Published: 9/12/2017 4:32:07 PM
Modified: 9/12/2017 4:35:28 PM
Claremont — New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu is calling for state police involvement in the investigation of an alleged hanging incident involving a biracial 8-year-old Claremont boy.
In a late Tuesday afternoon statement, Sununu said he had instructed the state Attorney General’s Office on Monday to send a team to Claremont to “provide assistance,” and that it was his “expectation that local and state authorities will investigate appropriately.”
“Hate and bigotry will not be tolerated in New Hampshire,” the governor said.
Meanwhile, Claremont police also issued a Tuesday news release with an update about the city force’s investigation into the alleged incident.
“Claremont police detectives assigned to this case are taking all steps possible to investigate the incident,” Chief Mark Chase said in the release. “The investigation principally revolves around the conduct of people who are 14 years of age or younger.”
Tuesday’s update is the first time the Claremont police have given a definitive age range for the youth allegedly involved in the incident. The family of the 8-year-old says he was playing in a backyard with some young teenagers on Aug. 28 when the teens began to call him racial epithets. They then put a rope around his neck and intentionally pushed him off of a picnic table, the family says.
The boy sustained cuts to his neck and was airlifted to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. He has since been released.
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Posted online at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday.