Tri-Cities student apologizes after posting ‘hurtful and racist’ video about mass shooting
A video of a Southridge High School student making racist and obscene comments about a deadly supermarket shooting has prompted a response from school officials after it was posted on social media.
The video shows two students sitting behind a desk in a commons area at the high school in Kennewick. A sign displayed on the table reads “Southridge Suns.” One of the students then goes on to say he wants to talk about “National Bigot Day,” and proceeds to make disparaging remarks about the Black people who were killed.
The Buffalo, N.Y., massacre, which left 10 dead, has been described by authorities as an act of “racially motivated violent extremism.”
The video was posted on TikTok and Instagram and immediately began drawing criticism.
Kennewick School District officials said they became aware of the video on Friday, May 20.
“We are aware of the video and have investigated,” said a statement from the district’s administration in an email to the Tri-City Herald.
“We do not condone or allow racism, intolerance or discrimination of any kind, and our top priority is creating an environment where all our students are safe, known and valued,” said the statement. “We are committed to addressing racism, intolerance and discrimination swiftly and with appropriate action.”
The district said school administrators were following appropriate “discipline consequences,” but wouldn’t comment on the extent of the discipline.
Principal Molly Hamaker-Teals called the comments in the video “hurtful and racist,” in a statement to KEPR.
The student who made the comments was later seen in another video posted to social media apologizing for his remarks.
“I’m not racist ... I just like when people laugh because it makes me feel happy and I just have something to get distracted,” he said.
This story was originally published May 25, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
