WEST POINT, Miss. -- West Point police said a man received life-threatening injuries in what they are investigating as an aggravated assault at a restaurant.
Ralph Weems IV, who was injured early Saturday, was in fair condition Sunday at North Mississippi Medical Center, hospital spokeswoman Genie Causey said without elaborating.
A relative, Bradley Barnes of Madison, told The Associated Press by telephone on Sunday that his brother-in-law was in a medically induced coma following brain surgery. "They're going to try and wake him up tomorrow and see what damage was done," Barnes said, describing Weems as a 32-year-old former Marine who had served in Iraq.
David Knighten of West Point told AP earlier by phone that he and Weems had gone to a Waffle House early Saturday. He said a man waved him over outside the restaurant and told him politely that people were upset by the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and it wasn't a safe place for whites. When he went in, he said, Weems was inside and was arguing with other men.
Police Chief Tim Brinkley did not immediately return a call Sunday from The AP.
"This does not appear to be a hate crime," he said in the press release. "We are investigating this as an aggravated assault. It's very early in this investigation but thus far the evidence and statements suggest that a verbal altercation turned physical and somebody got hurt."
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