Police in North Brookfield are investigating a possible hate crime after a 14-year-old African-American boy reported a passenger in a car threw a hatchet at him and yelled a racial slur as he walked home from school, an official said.
The boy got off the bus near South Main Street and was heading home when around 2:15 p.m. on Tuesday, when two people drove by in a black Jeep, Officer Chris Donais said.
“The passenger opened up the door, threw what appeared to be hatchet at him, yelled a racial slur, and drove off,” Donais said during a telephone interview Wednesday night. The passenger’s face was covered during the alleged incident, and nobody reported seeing it happen.
The boy was not injured, according to Donais. Police were unable to locate the hatchet or find the suspects and their car.
