Source: JEWEL SAMAD / Getty
A 17-year old black boy is dead after a white male felt “threatened” by the music the teenager was listening to.
On Thursday (July 4) outside a Circle K in Arizona, 17-year-old Elijah Al-Amin was reportedly stabbed to death by 27-year-old Michael Adams. The young black teen didn’t know the suspect and did nothing to cause the reaction of this killer.
According to Fox 10 Phoenix, the police say that Elijah was inside the store when Adams came from behind and stabbed him. Adams allegedly slit the boy’s throat and stabbed him with a pocketknife at a Peoria Circle K gas station.
The alleged suspect attacked Elijah because he felt threatened by the rap music he was listening to in the parking lot. Adams is a recently released prisoner and admitted to police after being found near the Circle K with a pocket knife and blood on his clothing, that he killed Elijah because he heard him playing rap music in his car.
Superior court records also state that Adams told investigators that he felt threatened by the hip-hop music the teen was playing, but not so much by Elijah himself. Adams explained that people who normally play rap music are a threat to him and his community. Suspect claims that the music makes him feel “unsafe”, after rap music listeners attacked him in the past.
Michael Adams criminal history includes theft, disorderly conduct, assault with a weapon and assault on a corrections officer. Adams’ attorney is stating that he had mental health issues and that he had no access to any mental health services after being released from prison. However, a statement from an Arizona Department of Corrections spokesperson says that Adams was “not designated seriously mentally ill.” This tragic death is horrible and has created a movement for Elijah with the hashtag “#JusticeForElijah” on twitter.
Adams was charged with one count of first-degree murder and is being held on a $1 million bond at the Arizona Department of Corrections.
Elijah Al-Amin would have turned 18 in two weeks.
