Current:Home > News6 Massachusetts students accused of online racial bullying including 'mock slave auction'-DB Wealth Institute B2 Reviews & Ratings
6 Massachusetts students accused of online racial bullying including 'mock slave auction'
lotradecoin integration View Date:2024-12-25 15:57:29
Six Massachusetts students have been charged in "hateful, racist online" Snapchat bullying incidents, officials said.
Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni announced that his office is pursuing criminal charges against six minors from Southwick for the February incidents that included "facilitating and participating in a hateful, racist online chat that included heinous language, threats, and a mock slave auction."
“Hatred and racism have no place in this community. And where this behavior becomes criminal, I will ensure that we act, and act with swift resolve, as we did here, to uncover it and bring it to the light of justice. There is no question that the alleged behavior of these six juveniles is vile, cruel, and contemptible," Gulluni said.
According to the district attorney's announcement, between the night of February 8 and the morning of February 9, a group of 8th-grade students created a Snapchat group chat where several of them shared racist and hateful comments, "including notions of violence toward people of color, racial slurs, derogatory pictures and videos, and a mock slave auction directed at two particular juveniles."
Group chat reported to school officials
The group chat and some of the comments discussed were reported to Southwick school authorities on Friday, Feb. 9. Several students were suspended "as an emergency removal" after a review by school personnel the following Monday, Gulluni said.
Several students were formally suspended later that week. The district attorney learned what happened on Thursday, Feb, 15.
"The facts that he was given, and the nature of the alleged incident, compelled him to immediately direct members of his office’s Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit to investigate," the announcement from his office said.
Students charged
Gulluni said he met personally with the victims and their families.
The identities of the students charged in the incident will not be released because they are minors. All 6 are charged with threatening to commit a crime, two are charged with interference with civil rights, and one of those two was also charged with witness interference.
"Seeing it, and facing the reality that these thoughts, that this ugliness, can exist within middle school students, here, in this community, in 2024 is discouraging, unsettling, and deeply frustrating," Gulluni said. "We intend to appropriately punish those whose alleged behavior displayed a capacity for such hatred and cruelty and, ultimately, amounted to chargeable criminal conduct."
veryGood! (8263)
Related
- Andrew Shue's Sister Elisabeth Shares Rare Update on His Life Amid Marilee Fiebig Romance
- How war changed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
- UN chief warns that Israel’s rejection of a two-state solution threatens global peace
- Why Joe Biden isn't on the 2024 New Hampshire primary ballot — and what it means for the election
- How you can get a free scoop of ice cream at Baskin Robbins Wednesday
- How to turn off Find My iPhone: Disable setting and remove devices in a few easy steps
- Chicago Bears hire Seattle Seahawks' Shane Waldron as their offensive coordinator
- Dana Carvey's Son Dex Carvey's Cause of Death Determined
- Usher Cancels Atlanta Concert Hours Before Show to Rest and Heal
- Will the Doomsday Clock tick closer to catastrophe? We find out today
Ranking
- NASA still hasn't decided the best way to get the Starliner crew home: 'We've got time'
- Army doctor to face court martial following allegations of sexual abuse
- Joel Embiid, Karl-Anthony Towns set franchise records, make NBA history with 60-plus points
- French tourist finds 7.46-carat diamond at Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas
- Sofía Vergara Responds After Joe Manganiello Says Her Reason for Divorce Is “Not True”
- The European Commission launches an in-depth look at competitive costs of the Lufthansa deal for ITA
- Nebraska lawmaker announces Democratic bid for Congress, says Republicans bend to ‘vocal minority’
- 3 people arrested in the Netherlands on suspicion of violating EU sanctions with exports to Russia
Recommendation
-
Ryan Reynolds on his 'complicated' relationship with his dad, how it's changed him
-
CDC declares end of cantaloupe salmonella outbreak that killed 6, sickened more than 400
-
CDC declares end of cantaloupe salmonella outbreak that killed 6, sickened more than 400
-
Mark Ruffalo Shares How He Predicted a Past Benign Brain Tumor
-
As Baltimore’s Sewer System Buckles Under Extreme Weather, City Refuses to Help Residents With Cleanup Efforts
-
YFN Lucci pleads guilty to gang-related charge, prosecution drops 12 counts in plea deal
-
Dakota Johnson Clarifies Her Viral 14-Hour Sleep Schedule
-
U.S. and U.K. conduct airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen