Three Adults Arrested After Homophobic Attack Of 12-Year-Old Boy, Word ‘Gay’ Shaved On Head

Three people were arrested and charged with child abuse for their homophobic tirade against a 12-year-old boy with the word "GA" shaved into the side of his head. Lorkeyla Jamia Spencer, 19, Brittney Monique Mills, 35, and Jarrode Richards-Nwankwo, 18, have been detained for child abuse and homophobic attack and are being held at the Fulton County Jail.

A video of the distressing event was shared extensively on Instagram Live, prompting the authorities to launch a criminal investigation.

According to Atlanta Police Sgt. John Chafee, the Special Victims Unit of the Atlanta Police Department became aware of a social media video that looked to depict a young boy being mistreated, potentially because of his sexual orientation.

Richards-Nwankwo angrily questioned the 12-year-old about his sexuality in a footage filmed on June 17 before frantically grabbing his T-shirt and lashing out, slamming the boy to the ground and then against a rail.

“You still doing gay sh*t. You think I cut this in your head for no reason?” he yelled at the boy before hitting him repeatedly.

According to the incident report, there were two more videos, including one in which the youngster stated that he had not been mistreated and another in which the boy was teased with a changed hairline and the word "gay" written on the side.

According to an Atlanta Police Department press release, SVU investigators began working on locating the scene of the event and identifying all persons involved on June 17.

"We actually got a lot of feedback from members of the community who were able to help us identify the location and some of the people involved," Chafee said. "We're very appreciative of the feedback that we got in this case."

The state's Division of Family and Children Services took custody of the 12-year-old.

Spencer and Mills were in jail as of Monday evening, according to Tracy Flanagan of the Fulton County Sheriff's Office, with their bonds set at $40,000 apiece. Richards-Nwankwo was freed from jail on Sunday after posting a $50,000 bail.

“The behavior in this social media post was difficult to watch and is absolutely unacceptable,” the Atlanta Police stated. “Our investigators worked hard to identify those involved and to gather the evidence needed to place each behind bars and we are thankful for their work.”