The Justice Department needs to investigate whether a white North Carolina man who allegedly fired a shotgun that injured two African American children should be charged with a hate crime.

According to police, John Clyde Fuqua, 52, of Leasburg was arguing with a black man named John Downey at his residence. During the argument, Fuqua used racial slurs and ordered his wife to retrieve his shotgun. As Downey headed back to his car, three children (two 10-year-old girls and a 7-year-old boy who are black) walked past. Fuqua allegedly fired three shotgun blasts that missed Downey but struck one of the girls and the boy.

Fuqua is now facing two felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury and two misdemeanor counts of assault with a deadly weapon. The North Carolina chapter of the NAACP and the national office are calling for the Justice Department to get involved because the penalty for hate crimes in North Carolina is minor.

According to a report in GoDanRiver.com:

District Attorney Joel Brewer said...that he notified the U.S. Department of Justice, "where ethnic intimidation is treated more seriously than the North Carolina legislature deems to treat it." Ethnic intimidation is a misdemeanor in North Carolina.

Rev. Dr. William Barber II, president of the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, said:

These children and their families have been traumatized. The disturbing history of this man's racial animosity toward African Americans and the hateful epithets he has been accused of yelling must be investigated as indications that this was indeed...a possible hate crime.

"It is appalling that these small children may have suffered serious physical and psychological harm because of the violent inhumanity of this kind of racial intolerance," added Benjamin Todd Jealous, president and CEO of the NAACP.

If Fuqua did not have such racial animosity toward Downey, he may not have shot at him, and these kids would have been spared physical injury and psychological trauma.

"Violence and gunplay is bad enough as it is, but there is nothing more vicious and vile and sick than engaging in gunplay that hits children," Barber said, "For us, whether they are black or white, these are our babies."

There should be serious consequences when people commit violent acts based on hate, which means attacking someone because they are gay, homeless or, in the recent case of a New York woman who was beaten and robbed at the age of 101, elderly.

Even if the children had not been hit, Fuqua's crime, because of the racial element, should have been treated more seriously.

Initially, Fuqua was released on only $5,000 bail.

"He was back home before the children were back from the hospital," Barber said to GoDanRiver.com.

Fuqua was later taken back into custody after a judge increased his bond to $140,000. In addition, the prosecutor attempted to add "with intent to kill" to Fuqua's charges, but the grand jury rejected it.

If someone fires a shotgun at an individual after an argument, I think they have only one goal.The low bail and the minor punishment doled out by the state show that hate crimes are not taken seriously in some places in the country.

In New York City, Jack Rhodes, 47 robbed two elderly women, one of whom, Rose Morat, was 101 years old at the time. Not only was he found guilty of the mugging and assaults, the New York Times also reported that:

The jury determined that the assaults could be classified as hate crimes under the provisions of New York State's Hate Crimes Act of 2000 because of the victims' ages. Sentencing is to take place on Nov. 12; Mr. Rhodes faces up to 90 years in prison.

"I just hope he won't be able to hurt anybody else," Morat, now 103, told the Times.

The message must be sent that attacks based on specific characteristics, such as age, race or gender--factors that are out of the victim's control--will not be tolerated. The North Carolina legislature must increase the penalties for hate crimes, and federal authorities should not hesitate to get involved in this case.

"We don't intend to back up in any way when it comes to these children," Barber said. "This is now bigger than Caswell County. This is about the judicial system in North Carolina and the South."