Man arrested after University of Missouri social media threats

A man was arrested early Wednesday morning for making threats against African-Americans at the University of Missouri.

The man, 19-year-old Hunter Park, is suspected of having made threats Tuesday on the anonymous messaging service Yik Yak. Those threats sparked panic across the college campus and caused many students to avoid attending class on Wednesday.

Per Missouri state law, he was arrested on charges of making a “terrorist threat.”

{mosads}According to university police, Park is not a student at the University of Missouri and was not close to the campus when the threats went out. He is white. 

Park is being held on a $4,500 bond and his mug shot will not be released for his own safety, the university police department said.

His arrest comes after weeks of tension at the University of Missouri over allegations that school administrators had allowed an environment of racism to persist. Earlier this week, the head of the University of Missouri system announced his resignation over the protest. 

On Tuesday, threats on Yik Yak appeared to recall online postings allegedly made in advance of a mass shooting that killed nine people at an Oregon community college last month.

“Some of you are alright. Don’t go to campus tomorrow,” one said.

“I’m going to stand my ground tomorrow and shoot every black person I see,” said another. 

The threats prompted the lockdown at the university’s Black Culture Center, according to state Rep. Brandon Ellington (D), who was meeting with students in the facility at the time.