LOCAL NEWS REPORTER ATTACKED AS CAMERAS ROLL

On a sunny afternoon on Tuesday, March 11, in broad, open daylight, a local upstate news reporter was attacked by an angry mob in Union, South Carolina, as the reporter was attempting to do a news broadcast concerning a murder.

WSPA-TV Channel 7's Charmayne Brown and her news photographer Ti Barnes were standing across the street from the scene of a homicide where a grandfather was brutally and fatally attacked. The man's grandson has been charged with the murder.

As the Channel 7 news crew prepared for the broadcast, members of the accused's family began yelling at the reporter, using racial slurs, telling her to leave. Brown and Barnes are African-American. The accused and his family are Caucasian.

Suddenly, a family member crossed the street and began hitting Brown and pulling her hair, dragging her to the ground. Soon a mob of family members were engaged in the attack. Photographer Barnes at that point rushed to Brown's aide, but to no avail. The attack merely continued.

A camera from a news crew at another upstate television station, WYFF-TV Channel 4 in Greenville, was rolling during the entire incident. All of the faces were caught on tape. A Channel 4 reporter was heard calling the Union Police Department. Within minutes police vehicles descended on the area.

Charged with assault and battery were: Trina Vinson, mother of the murder suspect; Billie Taylor; Tousha Smith, sister of the murder suspect, who is charged with two counts of assault and battery; and a forth unnamed perpetrator.

Although there were several local news crews on the scene, Brown and Barnes were the only ones attacked.

Neither Brown nor Barnes were seriously injured.