Charge Expected In KFSM Battery

Sgt. Shannon Gabbard said the Fayetteville Police Department has requested that a warrant be issued for the arrest of a 10th grader who threw a Gatorade bottle that struck a local television reporter in the head during an anti-gay rally Nov. 18 at Fayetteville High School.

Cassandra Garnas, a reporter for KFSM, Channel 5, went to the emergency room at Washington Regional Medical Center after the incident, but tests apparently indicated no serious injury.

The boy, whose name will not been released to the public because he is a juvenile, apparently meant for the bottle to land near protestors and splatter them with Gatorade, Gabbard said. The 16-ounce bottle contained about four ounces of liquid and was thrown a distance of 30 to 40 feet, he said.

The police department requested a warrant for the arrest of the boy on a charge of third-degree battery.