*trigger warning story contains violence*
A Kansas City, Missouri man shot a teenage boy eight times because of his sexual orientation.
Malachi Robinson googled “How to get away with murder in real life” after committing the hate crime.
Malachi Robinson, 26, pleaded guilty to federal hate crimes charges this week (July 7) for shooting and nearly killing a teenage boy because of his sexual orientation.
In a hearing at the US District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Robinson, as part of a plea agreement, admitted attacking the teen, identified only as MS, eight times after he made sexual advances toward him on May 29, 2019, per Buzzfeed.
According to the plea, the two met at Kansas City Public Library where MS approached Robinson and asked to connect via Facebook.
The two then began a conversation over Facebook’s Messenger service, during which MS is said to have asked about Robinson’s sexual orientation and suggested they meet in the library’s bathroom to engage in a sexual act. Robinson said he wasn’t gay in one of the messages, but agreed to receive oral sex outside the library in exchange for $5.
Buzzfeed adds that Robinson was, without the teen’s knowledge, emailing screenshots of their conversation to his girlfriend as they were messaging, telling her, “He tryna set me up on sumn now, gonna unfriend me,” Robinson wrote. “Might shoot this boy if he try some gay shit.”
Robinson then followed M.S. to a wooded area nearby where, according to the plea, M.S. turned to leave before any sexual act occurred or any money was exchanged.
Robinson pulled out a handgun and shot the teen eight times – including three times in the chest, three times in his right arm, once in his left buttocks, and once in his right hand, almost detaching his finger – before fleeing the scene.
The teen, who cannot be identified because of his age, spent roughly two weeks in a hospital and continues to receive treatment for his injuries.
In a Facebook message in June 2019, Robinson wrote, “I shot a ni**a. He was being gay af and following me like a mf.”
Robinson was eventually arrested weeks later, on June 3, 2019, but the report details how, before being caught, he searched for online coverage of the attack and made efforts to evade capture by shaving off his head and trying to ditch his gun.
He also made Google searches for, among other things, “How to know if the police are looking for you,” “When will police arrest you after a murder,” and “How to get away with murder in real life.”
Robinson was arrested on 3 June 2019 and is expected to be sentenced on 15 December 2022.
“This attempted murder is a reminder that hate crimes against the LGBTQI+ community are real and must be confronted,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement.
“Violent acts targeting people based on their sexual orientation are heinous crimes that have no place in our country,” it continued.
The age of the victim is not mentioned in court documents. Robinson will be sentenced in December.