Police in Louisiana arrested a local pediatrician after he allegedly assaulted a Southern University student-athlete in what school officials said was a “racially motivated” attack.
Dr. Shane McKinney, 54, was arrested Wednesday for simple battery assault after police say he punched the victim in the chest and “verbally assaulted” her near the LSU Lakes at around 6:55 p.m. the previous day, Baton Rouge PD said in a press release.
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Southern’s athletic director Roman Banks issued a statement Tuesday regarding the inccident.
“We are aware of a reported off-campus verbal and physical assault involving a female Southern University student-athlete and a bystander,” the statement began. “At this time, we believe the incident was racially motivated and are wholly and completely focused on the safety and well-being of our student-athletes.”
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But police released an update on Thursday that there was not “enough evidence to prove that this was racially motivated,” a spokesperson told WBRZ.
The university has not released another statement following the new information.
McKinney, a specialist in pediatric emergency medicine, works at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center and was placed on leave pending the investigation, WBRZ reported earlier.
The hospital released the following statement to the station:
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“We don’t tolerate hate, racism or violence by any member of our organization against another person. We take the allegations placed against one of our physicians seriously and understand their gravity. We have placed the physician on administrative leave pending a thorough internal investigation. Based on the outcome of our investigation, we may consider further action. We place the well-being of our patients, teams and community at the forefront of everything we do.”
McKinney was later released Wednesday on a $10,000 bond.