A black college cheerleader’s family claims she was the victim of a racially-motivated “swatting” prank — after the teen’s white roommates allegedly filed a false report against her.
Stephen F. Austin University freshman, Christin Evans, 17, said police burst into her Texas dorm room at 3am on September 14 after as many as 10 students falsely accused her of threatening to stab others with scissors.
According to Christin’s parents, their daughter was sleeping when SFA police officers suddenly barged in with their guns drawn.
“I feel shaken,” Evans said during a press conference Monday with her parents and an attorney, KTRK reported.
“I can’t sleep at night. It has made me paranoid. I was looking forward to making friends and having a good time on the cheer team.”
Attorney Randall Kallinen said police told Christin they had received a report stating she had scissors and was threatening to stab students, ABC News reports.
Police then said the report was false.
“This could have been a Breonna Taylor circumstance,” Kallinen told reporters Monday, in relation the 26-year-old victim who was killed by Louisville police in March. “They had falsely accused Christin of having scissors and trying to stab people.”
SFA Chief of Police John Fields has since launched an investigation.
In a response issued via video message, Fields said, “a racially diverse group of students were involved in an incident involving a false report. The students will be held accountable for this at every possible level.
Late Monday evening, SFA President Scott Gordon released a statement on Twitter saying: “each perpetrator will be dealt with appropriately. He added that his “heart goes out” to the “young lady who was an innocent victim” in the incident.
“We will do all we can to support her and her family through this heinous ordeal,” Gordon said.
The teen’s parents, however, believe the prank was racially motivated.
Christin’s mom, LaShondra Evans, said she wants justice.
“I want [the people responsible] to have consequences. They played with her life,” she said.
“If she would have had something in her bed or if they would’ve [seen] her phone flash, it’s shiny on the back, and they had reported she had a knife … they could’ve shot her.
The incident remains under investigation.
Meanwhile, Christin has since moved into a new dorm room and is continuing her studies online.
