BATON ROUGE, La. — A Louisiana pediatrician was arrested Wednesday and accused of physically and verbally assaulting a Southern University student-athlete while she was walking near the LSU Lakes, authorities said.
Shane McKinney, 54, was charged Wednesday with simple battery, news outlets reported.
Baton Rouge police Sgt. L’Jean McKneely Jr. said the student, who runs track, was walking along the lake Monday night when a man punched her in the chest and verbally assaulted her.
Southern’s athletic director Roman Banks said the school believes the incident was racially motivated. Southern is a historically black university.
McKinney, who is white, is a pediatric emergency medicine doctor at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital, according to LinkedIn.
Before McKinney’s arrest, the hospital sent an internal email informing employees that a physician had been “identified as the suspect in an alleged racially motivated attack.” McKinney was placed on administrative leave.
On Wednesday, the hospital system removed McKinney’s profile from its website.
The hospital said it does not “tolerate hate, discrimination, or violence by any member of our organization toward another person.”
McKneely did not say whether police believe the incident was racially profiled.
It’s unclear whether McKinney had an attorney who would comment on his behalf.
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