Cops probing report that men brandished guns and hurled slurs at 3 Black women
A crime alert posted to the Ohio University website stated the incident started after three Black women heard two groups of men arguing and using racial epithets.
Ohio University police are investigating an incident in which a group of men allegedly followed three Black students, threatening them with handguns and hurling racial slurs at them.
A crime notice filed on the university’s website stated that three Black female students reported hearing two groups of men arguing near the Schoonover Center around 1:40 a.m. Sunday.
According to the alert, the female students overheard the guys using the N-word, which prompted one of the women to yell at the two groups, challenging their use of the slur.
While one of the groups left the area, police said the second group — three white males and one biracial or Black man — pursued the women, hurling racist epithets. Two of the men allegedly brandished weapons equipped with laser sites.
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The four males then ran toward Court Street, where police searched but could not locate them.
The university police department’s crime alert included prevention tips noting that perpetrators of crimes make campuses less safe and encouraging individuals to intervene if they can do so safely, and consider walking with a phone in hand if alone.
“I mean, seeing that it was kind of racially charged, it was kind of disheartening,” junior Caleb Miller said on NBC4. “I mean, it’s 2023. You would think those things don’t really happen on a campus as diverse as this.”
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