Austin Shuffield has misdemeanor charges upgraded to felony assault

Source: Dallas County Sheriff's Department / Dallas County Sheriff's Department

Source: Dallas County Sheriff's Department / Dallas County Sheriff's Department

Austin Shuffield Charges Upgraded To Felony Aggravated Assault

A white man who was caught on camera beating a Black woman in Deep Ellum, Dallas has finally been charged appropriately for the crimes he committed after weeks of local protests and rallies calling for true justice.

According to DallasNews, charges against Austin Shuffield have been upgraded to felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and unlawfully carrying a weapon from misdemeanor assault, interfering with an emergency call, and public intoxication.

Shuffield was initially arrested on March 21 after violently attacking 24-year-old L’Daijohnique Lee while he appeared to be holding a gun. We will provide video of the incident below, but we want to warn you that it is VERY graphic.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bvj_x8XFRw5/

Lee’s attorney and others in the community would also like to see hate crime charges added as the victim reported the Shuffield used racial epithets prior to striking her.

In a statement released earlier this week, Lee talked about how frightened this incident has made her. So much so that she’s had to sleep in hotels ever since she was attacked.

“I’m scared. I don’t know who is following me, who is behind me, who is watching me,” she said Monday at a news conference with her attorney, Lee Merritt.

Our thoughts and prayers are with L’Daijohnique. Our hate and vitriol are with Austin Shuffield. Hopefully, he dies a painful death in prison.