University of Mo. Campus Police Apprehend Suspect in Social Media Threats Against Black Students

We may earn a commission from links on this page.

University of Missouri campus police have arrested a 19-year-old suspect on charges of making a "terrorist threat" to black students on campus via social media, the university announced on Wednesday, USA Today reports. The white suspect, identified as Hunter Park, was arrested at the Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, where he is a student. The school is about 90 miles south of Columbia, where Mizzou is located.  

Park allegedly posted an anonymous message on the social media app Yik Yak threatening to "shoot every black person I see" at Mizzou on Wednesday. Mizzou Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin said that the suspect allegedly used "multiple accounts" to threaten students, although "he was never physically near campus."

Racial tensions are still high at the school following the ouster of President Tim Wolfe, who resigned after many students protested his inadequate handling of racial tensions on campus. Some people have reportedly taken to using racial slurs as they drive around campus. A group of men have also reportedly been seen walking around the school with bandannas covering their faces, shouting racial slurs at black students. 

Advertisement

A separate threat caused the evacuation of the university's culture center Tuesday night, where members of the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus were meeting with students.

Advertisement

A mass email was sent out to students, urging them to report "hateful and/or hurtful speech" to campus police. 

Advertisement

"Delays, including posting information to social media, can often reduce the chances of identifying the responsible parties," the email read, according to USA Today. "While cases of hateful and hurtful speech are not crimes, if the individual(s) identified are students, MU's Office of Student Conduct can take disciplinary action."

According to USA Today, freelance photo journalist Bradley J. Rayford, who covered Ferguson, Mo., and Baltimore unrest in the past year, reported through Twitter that black students were leaving the campus in light of the threats. 

Advertisement

https://twitter.com/BradleyRayford/status/664275473824919552

Read more at USA Today