Suspect Arrested for Social Media Threats Against Black University of Missouri Students 

By Anna Merlan  |  November 11, 2015 | 1:15pm
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University of Missouri police announced Wednesday morning that they have arrested the person responsible for making graphic threats on the campus gossip app YikYak and other social media platforms. There’s little information about the suspect yet; police have only said the person was “not on campus.”

Black students in a group called Concerned 1950 have been protesting institutional racism on campus for weeks; student leader Jonathan Butler ended a seven-day hunger strike after university president Tom Wolfe resigned Monday. But Mizzou was engulfed in chaos last night after the threats appeared, which darkly hinted that Black students would be gunned down today on campus.

One student also shared an email from her professor, in which he sounded more or less indifferent to her safety concerns:

University of Missouri police announced at 6 a.m. that they had taken a suspect into custody. No information on the person has yet been released.

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.

Classes will reportedly continue as scheduled today, with increased security.

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Jonathan Butler, front left, addresses students after Tim Wolfe announced his resignation, November 9, 2015.

 
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