Noose, Threats at Wisconsin College Found to be Hoax
Authorities in Kenosha County, Wis., are recommending criminal charges be filed against a 21-year-old University of Wisconsin-Parkside student who confessed to what initially appeared to be hate crimes.
Khalilah N. Ford of Louisville, Ky., âconfessed Friday evening when presented with evidence pointing to her involvement,â Sgt. Bill Beth of the Kenosha County Sheriff's Office said in a statement released Monday afternoon.
The young womanâs confession came two days after a string of rubber bands â apparently intended to appear as a noose â was found in a common area of a dormitory on the university campus in Kenosha.
Not long thereafter, a second noose fashioned out of plastic was found with a handwritten note left on the dormitory door of a young black woman, authorities said. Following those discoveries, a handful of flyers with racial epithets and a âhit listâ of intended victims turned up on the campus.
âEvidence led detectives to suspect one of the people on the list,â Beth said Monday. âWhen confronted with the evidence, the suspect confessed that she had made the âhit listâ because she was not satisfied with the initial response from a residence assistantâ who was shown the rubber bands that were said by some to look like a noose.
Sheriffâs detectives will recommend that the district attorneyâs office file misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and obstructing an officer, Beth said. âThe university has told us sheâs on emergency suspension; sheâs off campus.â
University officials initially took the threats seriously, and ordered increased security at the dormitory and on the campus.
âIt is good to find out that there was not an actual safety threat to our students,â university Chancellor Deborah Ford said.
Parkside Police Chief James Heller said his officers immediately âshifted from finding the perpetrator to protecting the perpetratorâ as she was being âremoved from the campus.â It wasnât clear if the student will be expelled.