A Black college freshman in Texas claims she was the victim of a “swatting” prank, when campus police stormed her room, with one officer’s gun drawn, while she was sleeping.
18-year-old Christin Evan did not have any criminal record, according to her lawyer, Randall Kallinen.
Evans alleges that her three roommates and seven other girls, who were mostly White and older than her, falsely accused her of threatening to stab someone with scissors.
“A story was made up about her that she was threatening to stab people in the room with scissors,” said Kallinen.
“It was extremely traumatizing for her and has led to a lot of problems psychologically and she is suffering from depression. Whenever she hears any footsteps outside of her dorm room, she’s always terrified.”
SFA Chief of Police John Fields confirmed the allegation in a news conference Wednesday morning, and the university police department posted on Twitter that they are “investigating a racially diverse group of students” and “the students will be held accountable for their actions at every possible level.”
Meanwhile, the president of the university said the school “takes this matter very seriously” and asked for patience while they conduct the investigation.
“Filing a false report violates the SFA Code of Conduct and potentially violates the law as well,” said SFA president Dr. Scott Gordon.
“The investigation and judicial processes take time. I want to urge everyone to withhold judgement until the conclusion of our investigation and process.”
Evans said that the incident made it hard for her to be on campus.
“I was looking forward to making friends and having a good time on the cheer team,” she said at a press conference.
“But since this happened, it’s made it really really really hard … I’m just taking it one day at a time.”