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Montgomery County judge relates black-on-black crime to KKK killings

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Montgomery County Judge is making headlines for comments he said during a court case involving black-on-black crime.

It happened last week, during the preliminary hearing for Vincent Merriweather - a man police say was part of two groups driving down the road in separate cars shooting at each other in November.

One peson was shot and killed.

During Merrieweather's preliminary hearing, Judge Wayne Shelton said, "I'm just... I'm tired of seeing young black man shooting at each other, in this community, in this nation. I don't understand it. I grew up in a time when people wore white robes and they shot at black people, and now i see young black men wearing black hoodies shooting at black men, and doing a much more effective job than the Klan ever thought about doing. I'm sick of it."

The head of the Clarksville Branch of the NAACP had some words after hearing that from the judge, but they were words in support of the judge.

"The judge was on point, he was on point, when he made that analogy, the NAACP branch president Jimmie Garland said.

He says he knows Judge Shelton, and agrees with him in this case.

"When you use that as an analogy, they are doing a better job, because they are killing one another. They're killing one another," Garland said.

He says people who might criticize what Judge Shelton said... need to look at themselves first.

"Ask themselves what are they doing to stop young black, white, brown kids to stop killing one another," Garland said.