A concerned mother in Georgia is speaking out after an incident involving a white neighbor who attacked her son.
As Latika Sim of Carroll County explained in an interview with regional NBC affiliate 11Alive, the man in question—who’s since been identified as 29-year-old Matthew Martel—lives in her neighborhood. At the time of the incident, Latika said, her 15-year-old son was outside playing basketball with his cousins in the Villa Rica area when Martel started running toward him.
“I was just panicked,” Latika said. “I was just, like, in 2021 I could not believe that a fully grown man would think that it was okay to come outside with a belt. When you see the video, he’s running full speed at my son and my son is caught off guard.”
Home security footage captured the incident. In video included in Monday’s report, Martel is seen holding a belt. Per a police report cited by 11Alive, the man told police he was “upset” over the children’s use of so-called profanity.
According to Latika’s son, Martel threw him up against the garage, at which point he hit his head. Latika, a 15-year veteran of the child care workforce, said she couldn’t understand what would drive a person to behave like this.
“I have never once thought, ‘You know what, let me take my belt off and beat somebody else’s kid,’” she said.
Ultimately, Martel was arrested. At the time of his arrest, he is said to have been out on bond for a charge in another child cruelty case. Booking records viewed by Complex on Wednesday show that a Matthew Martel was arrested on July 12 on counts including cruelty to children, disorderly conduct, battery, and simple assault.
Complex has reached out to the Villa Rica Police Department and the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
