Last night the on-going situation at the University of Missouri ignited a firestorm of concern on social media when a shooting threat surfaced on Mizzou Yik Yak. Screencaps of the threat were reported to authorities and quickly circulated around social media:
Late last night, police made an arrest for the threats. 19-year-old Hunter M. Park was arrested for making the threats on the anonymous message board app that’s popular with college students. Via Missouri S&T:
Early this morning the University of Missouri-Columbia Police Department in cooperation with the Missouri University of Science and Technology Police Department arrested Hunter M. Park, a Missouri S&T student, on allegations of making terroristic threats on social media.
“Threats of violence of any kind are not tolerated,” says Missouri S&T Chancellor Cheryl B. Schrader. “As a campus, we are grateful that this situation did not escalate. I thank both of the police departments for their swift action in handling this case. As always, the safety of our students, faculty and staff is our utmost concern.”
Tuesday evening MUPD was made aware of threats made on the anonymous social media platform YikYak and other social media sites. During its investigation, MUPD was able to trace the social media postings to Park. MUPD contacted Missouri S&T police for assistance with an arrest. At approximately 1:50 a.m., Park was arrested at Thomas Jefferson Residence Hall in Rolla for making terroristic threats. No weapons were found during the investigation. Park was transported to the Boone County Jail in Columbia, Missouri.
We can all agree the whole Freedom Of Speech the other day was pretty unchill, but let’s hope things calm down and resume so sense of normalcy at Mizzou soon. No one should ever feel unsafe while trying to get an education and better their life.