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"This school has a history for being a racist" - Trey Reed's cousin says Delta State University tried to lock him up for a hate crime in the past

After Trey Reed's body was found hanging at the Delta State University on Monday, a TikToker claiming to be his cousin has made remarks about the university to be racist in a video going viral over social media.
  • 08 September 2025, Dinslaken: Handcuffs can be seen on the belt of a police officer. Photo: Christoph Reichwein/dpa (Photo by Christoph Reichwein/picture alliance via Getty Images)
    08 September 2025, Dinslaken: Handcuffs can be seen on the belt of a police officer. Photo: Christoph Reichwein/dpa (Photo by Christoph Reichwein/picture alliance via Getty Images)

    A day after Trey Reed's body was found hanging from a tree in the middle of the Delta State University campus, a TikToker claiming to be his cousin posted a video about it, insisting that it was racist violence that killed Reed. 

    The TikToker also claimed that he also experienced racial violence at the campus five years ago, when the university staff tried to lock him up "for no reason," resulting in him getting a nine-month probation. He continued to say: 

    "This here, it was just reported that my cousin was found hanging from a tree, and they're trying to rule it as a suicide. I just got off the phone with one of my cousins, she said she was just seeing the reports that said he was beaten and bruised. Both of his arms were broken, and he had a broken leg. I'm gonna let y'all do the math, that this school has history for being racist."

    Reed's cousin then recalled another incident when someone attempted to report him for a hate crime despite being a "racist," "homophobic," and "transphobic" themselves. He was almost about to get locked up for it, until multiple other students took a stand for him. And when he went to the authorities to report it, no action was taken.

    Towards the end of the video, the TikToker warned people to research on the university's alleged racist behavior, asking them not to let the authorities "sweep nothing else under the rug".


    Authorities claim there was no evidence of Trey Reed's broken arms or legs 

     

    While the TikToker claiming to be Trey Reed's cousin said that his arms and leg were broken, the authorities have spoken against it. Murray Roark - the deputy coroner of Bolivar County, who assisted in the examination of Reed's body post his death - told Mississippi Free Press on Monday (September 15):

    "I saw no broken limbs... I don’t think I should probably discuss this any further than that, my opinion is that it was self-done, and I have reasons for that."

    Meanwhile, the DSU Chief of Police, Michael Peeler, shared that the investigation into circumstances surrounding Trey Reed's death was ongoing, with the report of his full autopsy still pending.

    After Reed's body was found, the DSU canceled all classes and shut down the campus until further notice. In a statement from the university, president Dr. Dan Ennis talked about expressing their "heartbreak" to Trey's family and was in talks with the campus's student leaders to organize prayer services for Reed. 

    Ennis also claimed that despite the incident, they don't believe that their students face any threat and are expecting operations to return to normal soon. 

    TOPICS: Trey Reed, Delta State University