NEW GLASGOW – A New Glasgow man was shot at with a pellet gun Tuesday evening in what he believes was a racially charged crime.
Jacy Cromwell, 28, was walking along High Street around 7 p.m. when a silver Ford Focus drove by. The four or five young men inside the vehicle rolled down the windows and yelled racial slurs at him and flung garbage at him.
It’s not a new thing for Cromwell, who is black. He says it’s been happening more and more over the past year – and not just to him.
“I run a basketball team at the YMCA with kids, 11-16 years old,” Cromwell said. “Some of the little fellows, they’ve had people jump out and threaten to beat them up, they’ve had people yell racial slurs at them. It’s been really bad the last year – at least two times a week.”
But on Tuesday, the violence escalated. The Ford Focus swung back around and stopped in front of Cromwell. Then the back door of the vehicle was flung open, he says, and a gun was aimed at him.
“I thought I was going to be shot,” he said. “For a second, I thought I was looking down the barrel of a pistol. It was a scary moment. Pop, pop, pop was all I heard.”
Cromwell ducked for cover, but was struck several times.
It turns out it wasn’t a pistol, but rather a pellet gun or a BB gun of some sort. Cromwell was wearing several layers of clothing and he moved fast enough that the pellets didn’t break his skin, but red marks covered his chest and neck area where the pellets struck him.
“It was a rainy day, so I was wearing three layers,” he said. “I still had red marks where the pellets hit me. But if it had been a nicer day, they could’ve lodged in the back of my head. If I hadn’t moved as quickly, they could’ve hit me in the face, or maybe my eye, and ruined by life.”
The shooter and the people in the car, he says, were white.
Const. Ken MacDonald with New Glasgow Police Service says they’re taking the incident very seriously and are looking for the driver and passengers in the vehicle. They’re considering the incident an assault with a weapon, but aren’t ruling out the possibility of other charges once they catch the individuals responsible.
“If you’re yelling any type of racial slurs, we’re going to take it very, very seriously,” MacDonald said. “He could’ve lost his sight. Assault with a weapon is a very serious offence.”
This is the second time Cromwell has been injured in a racially charged incident. About 10 years ago, he was attacked and hit in the head with a golf club, nearly severing his ear and causing hearing loss.
“I’m at my wit’s end,” he said. “How many times are you supposed to walk away? How many times can you turn the other cheek? I want to bring a light on this in the community. People have no idea this is going on.”
Police are asking for the public’s assistance in solving this crime. Anyone who might have spotted the vehicle in question on Tuesday night is asked to call New Glasgow Police or Crimestoppers.
I am wondering what PAST issues may have to do with this one? 2 rights dont make a wrong! People really should get their facts straight before letting their SMALL minds get the best of their BIG mouths. I know for fact that one of the articles someone felt the need to mention below racism was involved... but yes clearly not mentioned. Nobody cares about a black person being called a nigger back there! Nobody said his actions in the past are correct or excusable but I can say for fact that I am of mixed race. I no longer live in Nova Scotia and EVERY WHERE else in the world I travel to, I get looked at as a mixed race individual. .. except Nova Scotia - where because I am not full white.. I must be a "nigger". I have been called that word so many times in my life ONLY back in Nova Scotia..... whether it's uttering threats... racial slurs....or physical violence.. IT'S ALL WRONG... but addressing social issues in Nova Scotia is DEFINATLY long over due!!