Man arrested after punching 10-year-old in face

TYLER – A man was arrested over the weekend after striking a 10-year-old boy in the face multiple times with a closed fist near a Tyler church, our news partner KETK reports.

According to the Smith County arrest affidavit, around 4:37 p.m. on Saturday Tyler Police responded to 2726 Van Highway near Higher Heights Community Baptist Church where several people seemed to be upset and shouting very loudly at each other.

The document said once officers were able to separate the people arguing, they talked to a 10-year-old and his mother who explained Keyshawn Zakievan Jackson, 21, punched the child in the face multiple times.

“The mother of the victim, along with several other witnesses on scene, stated Jackson had struck the 10-year-old in the face with closed fist strikes multiple times,” the affidavit said. “Even Jackson’s sister, who was advocating for him (the child was allegedly being very pestering and shoving Jackson throughout the day), had stated Jackson punched the victim.”

The officer said that he noticed the child was in noticeable distress and crying profusely. “I directly observed bodily injury on the child,” the officer explained. “The victim displayed on his right cheek/lower eye socket, noticeable swelling and some discoloration that appeared to be the onset of bruising.”

When officers talked to Jackson, he would not say if he struck the child, but he acknowledged that he took “physical actions that crossed a line.”

Jackson was charged with injury to a child with intent to cause bodily injury, and was released the following day.