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3 Aug, 2016 04:14

PA mom blames Black Lives Matter for son shooting police

PA mom blames Black Lives Matter for son shooting police

The mother of a teen who shot at police officers while with his cousin, said that they had been “doing what Black Lives Matter wanted them to do.”

Police in Pennsylvania were responding to gunshots Friday morning when their vehicle came under fire by two teenagers. The teens were arrested on Tuesday, The mother of one holds Black Lives Matter at least partially responsible.

They are in jail for doing what Black Lives Matter wanted them to do: shoot at cops,” Luz Rentas said in a statement to several media outlets, Associated Press reported. “The truth is that these are two punk kids following the orders of an irresponsible organization and now they're gonna pay for it."

Marquell Rentas, 17, and Trenton Nace, 18, are cousins facing serious charges, including attempted homicide of a law enforcement officer. They were arrested after officers received a report of a shooting at a cemetery in Columbia, just before 3:30 am on Friday, according to the AP.

The 17-year-old Rentas reportedly told officers, “I was shooting at you,” when he was arrested.

District Attorney Craig Stedman seemed to agree with the mother, saying, “There's a lot of rhetoric demonizing police. It creates greater a chance to have individuals emboldened to take violent actions out on police.

The local Black Lives Matter chapter rejects Luz Rentas’ accusations, saying the group does not endorse violence as means to accomplish their goal of ending police brutality.

Kevin Ressler, pastor and co-organizer of Lancaster’s Black Lives Matter chapter, said Rentas reached out to him on Monday night via Facebook and had a lengthy conversation. He hopes to meet with her and the teens to discuss how to better serve young African-American men.

Hopefully we can take this near-tragic circumstance and try to figure out what positive can come from it,” he said, AP reported.

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