An Oregon man was charged with shouting gun threats and racial slurs at a black teen who rode a bicycle past his house.
Michael James Black was arrested and charged with second-degree intimidation and menacing in the May 10 incident, when he made racist and threatening remarks to the teenager, reported The Oregonian.
Police said the 14-year-old black boy was riding his bicycle near Black’s home with some friends after basketball practice, and the teen briefly rode in circles in a cul-de-sac to let his two friends catch up because they were on foot.
The 64-year-old Black, who was sitting in a chair in his carport, told the teenager he was on private property — and shouted racist threats to chase him away.
“He called him a racial slur, and said he was going to blow his head off,” said Ben Costigan, a spokesman for Gresham police.
The teen told police he was afraid Black would get a gun, so he rode home and told his mother, who called police.
Black told investigators the teen came onto his property, argued with him and flipped him off, but he admitted to using racist language during the encounter.
He also told police he believed the boy had a knife but admitted the teen was always at least 30 feet away from him.
The teen and his family live near Black but do not know each other.
Black has previous arrests on his record, police said, but nothing for similar crimes.
