Two Mississippi white men —father and son— are facing felony assault charges for chasing and shooting at a Black FedEx Express driver while delivering packages to a house in Brookhaven, Miss. on Jan. 24. But they could also be hit with hate crime charges as well, according to multiple reports.
The driver, D’Monterrio Gibson, 24, says he was chased by a pickup truck while he delivered packages in the neighborhood. The truck blew its horn at him and tried to cut him off from leaving the neighborhood, according to CNN.
“At that point my instincts kick in,” Gibson told the news network. “And I swerve around him as he [is] trying to cut me off to avoid getting stuck in the neighborhood,” he added.
“Gibson said he drove down the street about two or three houses when a man in the middle of the road pointed a gun at his vehicle and was mouthing and waving at Gibson to stop. Gibson said he shook his head “no” to indicate he wasn’t going to stop and then hid behind his steering wheel while he swerved around him. He heard at least five shots and heard the bullets hitting the van,” CNN reported.
Gibson called 911 to report the shooting and was told that the police had just received a different call about a suspicious person at the location of the shooting.
The accused shooters, Gregory and Brandon Case, reportedly followed him onto the interstate in their truck, according to The Hill. They were charged with feloniously attempting to cause bodily injury with a firearm and a deadly weapon.
Attorney Carlos Moore told CBS News Thursday: “He was simply Black while working” and has requested federal hate crime charges from the Department of Justice.
