Boy arrested in Wal-Mart racial announcement
Written by Stephanie Stonecold on Monday, March 22nd, 2010
It has been announced that a boy, 16 years of age, was recently accused of making the racial remarks over the intercom His name has not been released because he is a minor. The boy could face up to a year in a juvenile detention facility, although it is highly unlikely that the young man would receive a sentence so harsh.
It was not immediately clear if any of the customers who were currently in the store plan on pursuing legal action in the incident.
Gloucester County prosecutors say that shortly before 5 PM on March 14, an unidentified male accessed the public address system at the Turnersville, New Jersey, Wal-Mart Supercenter Store. “All blacks need to leave the store,” the voice announced. Store management contacted the Washington Township Police Department, which opened an investigation in conjunction with the county prosecutor’s office, Dalesandro said.
After the incident, both Wal-Mart and the police department launched separate investigations into the matter. Surveillance cameras in the store were not able to capture the incident on tape.
The cameras did show that three individuals were standing in the area around the intercom just before the announcement was made. They were also later seen leaving the area after the announcement was made.
Wal-Mart corporate spokesman Lorenzo Lopez has confirmed that the New Jersey store is updating its intercom systems and that the company is looking at Sunday’s episode to see if there are any lessons for the retailer’s other 4,000-plus American stores