Yesterday, NJ authorities announced that a 16-year-old boy was arrested for saying on a Wal-Mart store's P.A. system, "Attention, Wal-Mart customers: All black people, leave the store now." Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean Dalton said in a news conference, "This was an extremely disturbing event on many levels. Any statements like these that can cause harm or grave concern must be addressed as quickly we possibly can."
The incident occurred at the Washington Township, NJ Wal-Mart last Sunday. The town's police chief, Rafael Muñiz, said that surveillance cameras didn't show who made the remark, but, the NY Times reports, "images showed three people — the suspect, a young man and a woman — standing near the phone just before the announcement, and rushing from the store just after it." The police also looked online, examining at sites like Facebook and Youtube, and eventually found some postings with "kids bragging" about it. Muniz said the department also received tips, "We got lucky."
The teen, who was released to the custody of his parents, faces harassment and bias intimidation charges. He will be tried in juvenile court and could face up to a year in juvenile hall if convicted. A Wal-Mart spokesman said, "We're pleased this matter is resolved. We have updated our intercom system at this store to prevent this from happening again. We again apologize to all of our customers and associates who had to listen to something so offensive." However, the head of the Gloucester County NAACP chapter said that there are allegations that similar remarks have been heard (though not reported to the police) at the same store, "We are concerned about that, and we're looking into these incidents. We want to work with the community to make sure these types of incidents don't happen."
