A man in Arizona fatally stabbed a black teen at a gas station for listening to rap music.
Elijah Al-Amin, 17, was killed by 27-year-old Michael Adams on July 4 at a Circle K store in Peoria, according to AZ Central. Adams heard Al-Amin playing rap music from his car in the Circle K parking lot which led to the attack.
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Surveillance footage shows the teen entering the convenience store and Adams walking in a few seconds later. Adams walked around the store before attacking Adams, and used a pocketknife to stab the teen in the back and slit his throat.
The teen ran out of the store before collapsing underneath the gas pump canopy where police personnel began CPR.
According to court documents, Adams told police that he decided to kill the teen because of the rap music he heard playing from the teen's vehicle. Although he admitted he was not provoked or threatened by Al-Amin prior to the attack, it was the music that made him feel unsafe. He also said that people who listen to rap music are a threat to him and the community.
Adams has since been charged with first-degree murder. Jacie Cotterell, Adams' lawyer, is arguing that mental health issues played a part in his attack against Al-Amin. Speaking to 3TV News, Cotterell called Adams a "disabled person" and blamed Al-Amin's death on the Department of Corrections, adding that Adams wasn't given any resources or psychiatric help following his release from prison.
\u201c#JusticeForElijah, a 17-year-old boy murdered by a killer for listening to rap music in a parking lot because \u201cpeople who listen to rap are a threat to him and the community.\u201d The killer blames being off meds. \nThis is a hate crime not a mental illness. \n\u201d
However, Bill Lamoreaux, a spokesman for Arizona Department of Corrections, said that Adams "was not designated seriously mentally ill" following his release.
"The tragic death is terrible, and Mr. Adams will have to answer for his alleged actions," Lamoreaux said.
Following the news of Al-Amin's death, the hashtag #JusticeForElijah appeared on Twitter, with people using it to speak on the teen's death.
\u201cFunny how quickly we get to "mentally ill" when the suspect is white and the victim isn't. He killed an innocent teenager because he was listening to rap, call him what he is: murderer, RACIST. #JusticeForElijah\u201d
\u201cSounds like the police have way too much compassion for the killer, as if he deserves a pass. Nope. We demand #JusticeForElijah. This is so sad and over-the-top ridiculousness.\n\u201d
\u201cWe need to stop using mental health as an excuse to commit a crime. An innocent 17 years old young man was murdered just because a suspect feel unsafe by rap music. #JusticeforElijah\u201d
— Gio K \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@Gio K \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1562549176
