Social Justice
FBI probes hanging death of Black teen in North Carolina
After months of speculation in his death, the FBI is looking into the hanging death of black North Carolina teenager
After months of speculation into Lennon Lacy’s death, the FBI is looking into the hanging death of the Black North Carolina teen months after it was ruled a suicide.
Lennon Lacy, a 17-year-old high school football player, was found hanging from a swing set in Bladenboro, a small town where racial tensions still run high.
Lacy’s family and the NAACP have called the death suspicious for months. On Friday, Bladen County District Attorney Jon David said that an FBI agent will probe the case.
“We are thankful for the decision by the FBI to investigate — thoroughly — the death of my son,” the boy’s grieving mother, Claudia Lacy, told the Daily News. “I do not believe he committed suicide. Too many questions remain, too many answers not given.”
The teen’s body was spotted by a witness around 7:30 a.m. on Aug. 29, hanging from a swing set in a local trailer park.
Local authorities said the teen killed himself, but his mom says she knew they were wrong the moment she saw his body zipped into a body bag.
Lacy’s family said lingering racism remains an issue in Bladenboro, a small town that is 80% white and 18% black.