WIGGINS, Miss. - A black mother in Mississippi says her 15-year-old son was shaking in fear when he described white schoolmates putting a noose around his neck and pulling it tight.

Stacey Payton tells The Associated Press her son bears no physical injury, but she believes the incident has permanently changed him.

He continues attending classes and playing football at Stone High School in Wiggins. However, his mom says he's quieter than usual and the family fears retaliation for having brought attention to the Oct. 13 incident.

Payton says her son told her about the noose a couple of hours after it happened in a locker room. She says he was friends with the boys involved.

The school district's attorney, Sean Courtney, tells AP that only one student was accused of misconduct. A similar incident occurred this summer involving a young girl in Texas.