Video shows North Carolina middle school students re-enacting, mocking murder of George Floyd

Wednesday, June 2, 2021
SALISBURY, N.C. -- Students at a North Carolina middle school were recorded on video re-enacting the murder of George Floyd.

It reportedly happened at Charles C. Erwin Middle School in Rowan County.

Video of the incident shows one student with his knee on the neck of another student. One of the students can be heard saying "I can't breathe," which were some of the last words Floyd said as officer Derek Chauvin killed him.

"They think it's funny that a man got his neck kneeled on until he died," parent Breanna Cherry said in an interview with ABC affiliate WSOC. "How is that funny?"

Cherry's daughter attends Erwin Middle School. She said the video sparked an emotional mother-daughter conversation.

MORE | LAPD seeks to fire employee who shared post mocking George Floyd
LAPD chief seeks to fire employee who posted image mocking George Floyd


"It was more than those two children in that video," Cherry said. "It sounds like a classroom full of people, at least a couple others. It's too much. It's too much because we're in 2021. We're not in the 1950s."

Rowan-Salisbury School System Superintendent Dr. Tony B. Watlington Sr. said the video is under investigation.

"Our diversity is what makes us stronger and more resilient," Watlington said in a statement. "While we are extremely disappointed this incident has occurred, we are using this incident as a teachable moment, and encourage all of our parents and members of our school community to discuss how we treat each other as a measure of our shared values, respect for one another and our commitment to human dignity and worth of all students and staff."



MORE | LA resident reflects 1 year after George Floyd's murder. 'There are still these little flames everywhere'
1 year after George Floyd's murder, LA resident reflects: 'There are still these little flames'


MORE | 'Our America: A Year of Activism': How activism has evolved since the murder of George Floyd
Copyright © 2024 WTVD-TV. All Rights Reserved.