A Florida high school student posted a video he made at home showing him holding a fire arm and making racial slurs. The video has sparked community outrage and a source of controversy because no one has charged him with any crime.
In the video, the students makes comparisons to shooting ducks and saying, “I’m killing a ‘N’ either way.”
Bay District School officials escalated the issue to the Bay County Sheriff’s office because the student does not reference the school, other students as targets, or staff in the video.
The sheriff’s office issued a statement stating:
“In spite of the deeply offensive comments made by the teenager, no crime has been committed.”
State Attorney Glenn Hess agrees the student’s comments were highly offensive but he did not commit any crimes.
He could face disciplinary actions from the school but the public will not know about it because the school does not release that information; those matters are private.
Members of the community are outraged by the fact the student was not charged with any crime. Bay County Student Advocacy Center Founder and Director Gregory S. Dossie indicated that under Florida law, the DA could have charged the student with two crimes: unlawful possession of a weapon by a minor and unlawful display of a weapon by a minor.
However, Sheriff Ford said the firearm would have had to been loaded in order to charge him with that crime. From viewing the video, the sheriff concluded the weapon was not loaded at that time the student made the it.
“We see in that video, several times, where he operates the action of the gun. If the firearm were loaded, would have ejected a casing,” Sheriff Ford said.
In response to the student’s video, his racial slurs, and community outrage, the school plans to to explore the idea of creating a diversity council plus holding workshops to ensure school safety.
