Teen Spanked by Uncle in Viral Video Found Dead

A video that went viral earlier this year featuring an uncle spanking his teenage nephew for engaging in gang activity didn't seem to hit the mark. The 16-year-old was found shot to death Dec. 7 in his native New Orleans. Suggested Reading The Root 100 – 2020 Black History Month – 2022 Hip-Hop 50 Year…

A video that went viral earlier this year featuring an uncle spanking his teenage nephew for engaging in gang activity didn't seem to hit the mark. The 16-year-old was found shot to death Dec. 7 in his native New Orleans.

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The video, which sparked several parodies online, showed Michael Taylor's uncle telling him to disavow gangs while he whips him with a belt. He then tells the teenager to post the video on Facebook, which in turn caused it to go viral.

Taylor's mother, Kimberly Ward, said that she kept tabs on her son and told him not to go out after 8 p.m. On that fateful night, she said her son received a text from a friend to come outside, and that's the last time she saw him alive.

"She said she called him back inside a few minutes later to find out what was going on, and he told her he was just talking and went back outside. A few minutes later, her daughter received a text message saying that Taylor had been shot, and then another saying he was dead," Ward told the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

Authorities have yet to find a suspect in the killing and have yet to discover a motive.

View the video here.

Read more at NBC Bay Area.

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