A Black teenager in Texas hired an attorney after being allegedly chased and attacked with a “Taser or cattle-prod-like” by a group of teens who were dressed as the Ku Klux Klan for Halloween.   

Matt Manning, the attorney representing the Black teen, held a press conference last week and said that while his client did not suffer any major injuries,  the group he was with was terrorized.

The alleged attack occurred in Woodsboro, a small town located about 30 miles north of Corpus Christi. 

Manning said there were a total of six victims, including his client. While he declined to identify the teens and alleged perpetrators because they are juveniles, he mentioned that the victims and the offenders are all students at the same school. The attorney also posted on Facebook that the three alleged perpetrators are football players at Woodsboro High School and they were permitted to play in the Friday night game. 

“For you to dress up as a Klansman, you have a specific intent of terrorizing. That’s not an accident. That’s not kids being kids. That’s not boys being boys. That’s not hazing or high school hijinks. High school hijinks are egging somebody’s house, not dressing up as a Klansman and tasing them," Manning told the Associated Press.  

"We are demanding an explanation from the Woodsboro HS administration and athletic department for how three players could commit an act of terror, hate, and injury — surely known by coaches and administration to have occurred — yet still be afforded the PRIVILEGE to play football," Manning wrote on Facebook, according to Newsweek.

Manning is calling for law enforcement and the municipal school district to take action against the alleged attackers.

“I think it’s really important to discuss the historical context — the Klan is a particularly evocative terror group for Black Americans," Manning told Newsweek. 

He also added that there is a possible video of the event that students have been circulating. Law enforcement is currently working on locating the footage. 

Woodsboro Superintendent Ronald Segers Jr. posted on Facebook and said he was aware "of an event that occurred on Halloween night and involving Woodsboro High School students allegedly dressed in garb associated with a widely-known racial hate group and antagonizing a classmate."

"This event did not occur at school or at any school-sponsored or school-related activity…[the district] cannot discipline students for this type of conduct when it occurs off-campus," the statement read. 

School counselors have made themselves accessible for students who were affected by the attack, according to Segers' statement. Deputies in Refugio County have made no arrest and have not charged any of the teens with a crime.