Quote:The mother of a beaten 17-year-old Sylacauga teen, now calling the assault a hate crime.

Brandi Allen says her son was targeted for supporting police in the aftermath of recent shootings.

She says she can't imagine a situation, where anyone would deserve what happened to him.

"Not knowing if my son is going to make it to his 18th birthday this month, I don't know if anybody can understand what that feels like," Allen said.

She says her 17-year-old son Brian Ogle is in critical condition, with a fractured skull and trauma to his brain.

Quote:She says he was targeted for posting pro police comments on Facebook, after some Sylacauga High School students wore Black Lives Matter shirts to school last week.

Police say he was beaten up by multiple people in an abandoned business parking lot, Friday.

They acknowledge growing racial tensions at the school could have played a part in this assault.

"I want to see them in jail, this most certainly is a race issue, it's a hate crime." Allen said.