A white Virginia dad who allegedly shot his daughter’s Black boyfriend several times has been released on $500 bond.
Patrick Fonatine Creath Jr, 43, was charged with malicious wounding, as well as use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, in connection with a shooting in Virginia Beach on June 19 — Juneteenth.
The leniency of the charge caused outrage online, as 50 Cent, Trey Songz and civil rights attorney Ben Crump shared a petition to upgrade the charges, which has already garnered more than 17,000 signatures.
According to Crump, who is representing the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, Creath Jr is a “known member of the KKK.”
“He shot his daughter’s Black boyfriend 3 times — trying to KILL him by spraying his car with bullets on June 19, 2020,” he wrote. “Thankfully the young man survived, but Creath is free on only $500 bail for a ‘malicious wounding’ charge!”
Fifty and Trey meanwhile, posted the name and phone number of Creath Jr’s roofing business, advising followers to “give him a call”.
According to Wavy.com, Creath Jr told police he opened fire in self defense.
He said he was at the scene of the argument to talk to his daughter’s boyfriend, who he said “kept threatening to kill him”. He said he continued to make threats as he got into his car, before pointing a gun at him and his daughter “as if to shoot them”, court documents show.
He told police he feared for his life and shot at the car several times “in defense of himself and his daughter.”
The victim was struck three times, but managed to drive to a nearby 7-Eleven and make his way inside, where emergency services were called.
An off-duty trooper told police the man removed a bag from his car and took it into the store; officers later recovered the bag and found a gun, the court documents state.
“Mr. Creath remained on scene of the shooting and was in possession of the firearm that he used at the time of police arrival,” police told the site, confirming that another weapon had been recovered as part of the investigation, but refusing to say where or to whom it belonged.
The victim posted gruesome pictures of his injuries on social media, including a gaping wound on his leg.
“My ancestors had it way worse ….. but look what this white man making me go through,” he wrote.
The boyfriend is not facing any charges.
“[Creath’s] behavior was a hate crime and should be prosecuted as such.” the petition to VA Senator Tim Kaine reads. “Had this situation been vice versa, the black young man that was shot would still be behind bars without the possibility of bond.”
