'Jena 6' Teen in Hospital After Shooting Self

Bell couldn't take media attention following new arrest: family

By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff

Posted Dec 30, 2008 2:33 PM CST

(Newser) – Mychal Bell, one of the “Jena six” who were the focus of a racial controversy in 2006, survived a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest and is in a Louisiana hospital, the Monroe News Star reports. Bell shot himself after being arrested for shoplifting on Christmas Eve and said “that he shot himself because he was tired of all the media attention” after that arrest, police reports said.

Bell was arrested less than one month after his release on charges stemming from the beating of a Jena High School classmate. His attempt to steal $370 worth of merchandise from a Dillard’s department store also landed him charges for battery and resisting arrest, police said.

Mychal Bell, one of the "Jena Six," listens to speakers after leaving the LaSalle Parish Courthouse in Jena, La., Thursday, Sept. 27, 2007. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Mychal Bell, one of the "Jena Six," appears at a news conference after leaving LaSalle Parish Courthouse in Jena, La. (AP Photo/Kita Wright)

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'Jena 6' Teen in Hospital After Shooting Self

Bell couldn't take media attention following new arrest: family

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Jena Braces for Thousands of Protesters

Locals resent activists, fear violence; tiny LA town will shut down

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Retail theft in 4 weeks before Christmas expected to be 6% higher than 2010

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Wanted to make mom 'feel stupid,' Jeremiah Lee Wright tells cops

Louisiana Man Gets Life for Marijuana

Repeat offender Cornell Hood gets long time in joint

TV Reporter Claims She Shoplifted for Story

...except that she's a traffic reporter

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