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Tuscaloosa County police arrested a white West Alabama community college student on Wednesday after she allegedly made a post on social media claiming she’d “shoot a n***a in Walmart” while showing a gun.
Authorities charged 20-year-old Sydney Angela Holder with disorderly conduct because of her social media post, according to officials.
WBRC reported that strangers and Shelton State Community College administrators notified Tuscaloosa police about the social media posts and immediately arrested Holder, booking her into the Tuscaloosa County Jail. Authorities ruled Holder’s charge as a misdemeanor and set her bond at $500 on Thursday. Holder was released.
Police also arrested and charged another student named Emily Elizabeth Cornett, 20, on Friday with the same misdemeanor, and the bond set at the same amount.
The racial threats against Black people follow the horrific mass shooting that occurred in Buffalo, New York, where 18-year-old Payton Gendron arrived at a supermarket with the intention to kill Black people and actually ended up killing 10 of them.
Since that shooting occurred and was broadcasted worldwide, one would think law enforcement would take the threats more seriously but Cornett and Holder’s punishments were slaps on the wrist.
According to WVUA, the NAACP made a statement addressing the matter.
“Upon learning of the existence of the video, we immediately consulted with the school’s administrators,” the NAACP said. “We learned that law enforcement had been notified and that the college is cooperating with the local officials and actively addressing the situation.”
“We live in a country where in the past 30 days, we’ve had over 50 incidents of gun violence, of mass shootings,” Lisa Young, President of Tuscaloosa County’s NAACP branch said. “And people are walking around terrorized. They feel terrorized so, I actually considered it a domestic terrorist threat.”
The college also made a statement regarding the incident.
“Shelton State Community College is currently working with the Tuscaloosa Police Department regarding a recent social media incident,” the statement read. “The college is fully participating with law enforcement’s investigation and is dedicated to upholding its institutional values of integrity, accountability, respect, and responsiveness.”