Court appearance Thursday for suspect in University of Missouri threats

FILE – University of Missouri, Columbia campus, showing Jesse Hall and the Mel Carnahan Quadrangle behind it, and Stankowski Field.

According to campus police, an unknown suspect spray-painted over part of the sign outside the center at about 12:48 a.m. Authorities are reviewing videotape in the area as part of the effort to determine the identity of the culprit, police said. That October 1 massacre left 10 dead including the shooter.

One post said, “Some of you are alright”. Don’t go to campus tomorrow”, Park “smiled and stated, “I was quoting something, ‘” Heckmaster wrote.

This week’s demonstrations follow the protests and rioting past year in Ferguson Missouri, 115 miles east of the university, after an unarmed black teenager was shot and killed by a white police officer. Yik Yak spokeswoman Hilary McQuaide said the company worked with police to identify Park, saying it may do so when a post poses a risk of imminent harm. No plea was entered on his behalf.

Park’s alleged threats come as racial tensions at Mizzou are running high. His parents and two brothers attended the hearing and did not speak to the media afterward.

Students at a few schools said they were emboldened to take a harder stance against racism by the protests that topped the Missouri president, who was criticized for his handling of racial complaints. Park’s felony review hearing is scheduled for November 18. A $4,500 bond was initially set after Park’s arrest, but was then withdrawn.

“It’s more implicit, it’s not in your face”, said student Ty Murray, with the newly organized campus cultural awareness group, Culture Shock Society. Brian Weimer, a police spokesman, told CNN. Middleton, who is black, retired as deputy chancellor of the Columbia campus in August and took on the role of deputy chancellor emeritus.

According to Middleton’s university bio page, he joined the faculty at Missouri in 1985 as a law professor and held a number of position over the next 30 years. “The recent events at Mizzou, Yale, and Ithaca highlight the importance to have a real conversation about diversity and inclusion on college campuses”, the SA post reads. While graduation and retention rates are low, the University of Missouri has done a better job than many comparable institutions in enrolling black students.

Wednesday afternoon, students at Smith College in Northampton staged a walk-out to highlight similar issues on their own campus. “I’m not here for how people look at me; I’m here for my education”.

Hunter Park, a 19-year-old student at Missouri University of Science and Technology, and Connor Stottlemyre, a 19-year-old, student from Northwest Missouri State University, were arrested in conjunction with the threats, USA Today reported. He was also charged with one count of making terrorist threats with criminal neglect, a misdemeanor.

Tyler Bradenberg, 19, allegedly posted, “I’m gonna shoot up this school”, on an anonymous messaging app Wednesday. Shaw ordered Park to remain jailed, pending a November 18 court appearance.