University of Missouri police arrested Hunter M. Park, a white male, in Rolla, Missouri followiny social media threats posted on Yik Yak.
Park threatened to kill all black people on the MU campus.
He posted this threat on Yik Yak.
There is a LinkedIn profile for Hunter Park from Rolla who is a student at the college there.
The Columbia Daily Tribune reported:
University of Missouri police have arrested a suspect in connection with threats posted on Yik Yak and other social media services that caused widespread fear on campus Tuesday night.
MUPD Maj. Brian Weimer said in a news release Wednesday morning that police arrested Hunter M. Park, 19, of Rolla at about 1:50 a.m. for making a terroristic threat on the social network. MU police contacted Park in Rolla and brought him to Columbia, where they arrested him.
Park is not an MU student, Weimer said. He was being held Wednesday morning at the Boone County Jail on a $4,500 bond. MUPD said it would not release a photo of Park for his safety.
Park was not on or near campus when the threats were made, MU spokesman Christian Basi said in a separate news release.
MUPD Maj. Brian Weimer was quoted in the release saying additional officers were on campus Tuesday night, and students were safe despite the threats. Several students were calling for the cancellation of Wednesday classes, but Basi said in the release that MU will operate on its normal schedule.
At least one of the threats targeted black students. Black students were also the target of threats posted on anonymous platforms Yik Yak and Erodr in December, when posters encouraged the burning of the Gaines Oldham Black Culture Center on campus after a demonstration against racial inequality.
A threat forced the evacuation of the culture center Tuesday night while members of the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus met with students, Rep. Brandon Ellington, D-Kansas City, said in a news release. The caucus met with outgoing Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin, who is leaving the position Jan. 1, and student members of the group Concerned Student 1950, which has led protests against racial inequality for the past several weeks on campus.
Here’s the official statement in the most recent MU Alert issued this morning at 6 a.m., via The Riverfront Times:
University of Missouri Police have apprehended the suspect who posted threats to campus on YikYak and other social media. The suspect is in MUPD custody and was not located on or near the MU campus at the time of the threat. We will update this website as additional information is confirmed. MU is operating on a regular schedule. Please check here for official information. Safety is the university’s top priority and we are working hard to assure that the campus remains safe while information is obtained and confirmed. This is the official University of Missouri emergency alert website. Whenever an emergency occurs that affects the university community, this website will be updated as quickly as possible with the most current, confirmed information. Please check here for official information. So that phone systems do not become overloaded, please do not call MUPD as they are working hard to confirm facts and maintain the safety of the campus. We are in touch with them as they work through the process and will update this website as quickly as information is received and confirmed. Safety is the university’s top priority, and we are working hard to assure that the campus remains safe while information is obtained and confirmed.
