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Crime

Black Students Report Having ‘Bleach Bombs’ Thrown at Them at University of Texas

Oct. 4, 2012 5:47pm Madeleine Morgenstern

Police at the University of Texas are investigating reports of black students being attacked with bleach-filled balloons in an off-campus neighborhood, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

According to ABC News, four students filed campus police reports on Monday saying they were targeted in incidents that occurred in June through September when the objects fell from high-rise balconies. The students came forward after University of Texas police reached out to them.

“We had heard at UT rumors of incidents that had happened, but no one had ever filed a report,” campus police spokeswoman Cindy Posey told ABC. “Our chief of police did his own research, found some things on Facebook, and heard about a couple of people who were hit by balloons.

“Chief Robert Dahlstrom reached out to the kids and said to them, ‘Why have you not filed a report?’ So [on Monday] four people came forward and filed reports.”

The American-Statesman spoke with two students who said they were targeted:

History senior Joshua Tang, who identifies himself as an African and Chinese American, said he was walking at 26th and Pearl streets on Aug. 24 when he felt a balloon fall from above his head and hit the sidewalk, staining his jeans. Tang said he smelled the bleach but did not see who dropped it.

Anthropology sophomore Taylor Carr, who identifies herself as black, said she was also hit by bleach balloons in two separate incidents at the same place as Tang.

“I was, of course, offended and thought, ‘What if this would have gotten in my eyes?’” Tang said. “For me, it spoke for a deeper racial and cultural issue we have at UT.”

Tang told the newspaper he did not initially come forward because he didn’t think anyone would be caught and “he feels police are unfriendly to social justice movements.” Carr said she was not injured in either incident.

“It’s very frustrating to know that it’s 2012 and that stuff like this still happens,” student Jaysen Runnels told KVUE-TV. Runnels, who is black, said a “bleach bomb” narrowly missed him and his roommate.

The incidents prompted students and community members to hold a campus demonstration and then march into the neighborhood in protest.

“We are finding that a lot of students do not know what is going on,” student Jamesha Chapple told campus news blog The Horn. “I wasn’t bleach-ballooned, but because it happened to people I care about in this community, I am marching with them.”

Still, not everyone believes students are being targeted because of their race. Student Sophie Weiner told the KVUE she’s witnessed objects being thrown from the buildings for the last three years.

“I see it from my balcony,” Pete Desai added. “I think it is just who ever happens to walk by at the time.”

Student Mackenzie Drake was similarly unsure: “I don’t know. My friend said they had gotten a banana thrown at them and someone said they had a water balloon with bleach thrown at them one time.”

Posey told ABC police have not been able to confirm the objects contained bleach but are investigating the reports. No suspects have been identified.

Officer Steve McCormick told KVUE that if the attacks were hate crimes, it could be difficult for prosecutors to prove. Throwing an object at someone from a balcony is still classified as assault.

“It can be difficult to prove because it is motivation. Motivation can be very subjective,” he said.

(h/t Gawker)

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Comments (98)

AxelPhantom
Posted on October 4, 2012 at 7:26pm
Not to nit-pick on what could be a serious issue, but there is no 26th and Pearl in Austin. Pearl runs from just south of 28th runs north(ish) and ends at 30th.

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- grimmster
  Posted on October 4, 2012 at 8:18pm
  Actually Axel, pearl st. run from 24-26th,it never touches 28th……
  
  Report this comment
- GdHUs
  Posted on October 10, 2012 at 12:48am
  And if this actually happened why is everyone assuming the perpetrators are white?
  
  Report this comment
nobull14
Posted on October 4, 2012 at 7:24pm
The whole story does not pass the smell test ?

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- bobdog19006
  Posted on October 5, 2012 at 7:40pm
  Will somebody get me Tawanah Brawley on the phone? Anybody?
  
  Report this comment
izzy1127
Posted on October 4, 2012 at 7:18pm
I’m finding it way too convenient for this story to be coming out today. However, if it’s true, I hope they find out who done it and put a permanent record on them…….. R/R 2012

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- Mil-Dot
  Posted on October 5, 2012 at 2:41pm
  Did you guys hear that the Denver restaraunt owner that refused to host a Romney event is now claiming that he is receiving death threats? Yeah right, I believe that one too (sarc) . These low-life progs will try anything to win the election. Even fabricating fictitious crimes in order to gain some sympathy. They truely are diseased miscreants.
  
  Report this comment
Realman30
Posted on October 4, 2012 at 7:06pm
I wonder if these liberal students spend much time in the hood? If they did, they’d probably get hit with something other than water ballons.

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- Walkabout
  Posted on October 4, 2012 at 7:15pm
  Bleach ballooons are not water ballons.
  
  Could be a false flag by some activists. whatever it is, the police can plot the inciedents, put remote surveillance up tape it & then find the culprit.
  
  Someone would have to explain why it wasn’t them on the balcony of apartment x.
  
  Report this comment
Meyvn1
Posted on October 4, 2012 at 7:03pm
Way lame. Jail the idiots.

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mrprof
Posted on October 4, 2012 at 7:01pm
Sounds like another in a long line of lefty hoaxes.

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- ReviveOurNation
  Posted on October 4, 2012 at 7:18pm
  “Tang told the newspaper he did not initially come forward because he didn’t think anyone would be caught and “he feels police are unfriendly to social justice movements.” ”
  
  Social justice movements? What does this have to do with social justice movements? This is an assault, if true. And who are they protesting? This smells fishy. No one came forward before and now there are multiple attacks?
  
  Report this comment
- Walkabout
  Posted on October 4, 2012 at 7:24pm
  A small but significant percentage of college students are just that immature. It could be random.
  
  I remember a story of a college junior enginerring student going around cat napping & then torturing the cats by breaking thgeir 4 legs. Just because you are smart in a subject or proficient at scvholastics does not mean you are a mature person.
  
  It could be racial or false flag. Don’t know. My guess is that iif there are no minrotities they would try to find & identify some other group to hurt or humiliate.
  
  Report this comment
progressiveslayer
Posted on October 4, 2012 at 7:00pm
Joshua ‘poon’ Tang I think your story smells fishy.

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cookcountypatriot
Posted on October 4, 2012 at 6:56pm
i doubt it happened at all…if it really did happen they would have called the campus police ,,the city police and the fbi ….no waaaaaay this happened….unless of course they did it themselves

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- demsrtraitors
  Posted on October 4, 2012 at 7:28pm
  yep, you know it.
  
  Report this comment
Ellie
Posted on October 4, 2012 at 6:55pm
Sorry but this smell like BS to me. The left is so desperate to maintain the “Evil Right Wing Nut Job” narrative that there has been a few faked “hate crimes” in the last few months.

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- drs1969
  Posted on October 4, 2012 at 8:58pm
  Hate Crimes are an assault against the white race!
  
  Report this comment
theprofessor1031
Posted on October 4, 2012 at 6:41pm
“The students came forward after University of Texas police reached out to them.”

That statement alone should throw up all kinds of red flags. I doubt very seriously these incidents happened the way they were reported, if at all.

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The-Monk
Posted on October 4, 2012 at 6:31pm
“Tang told the newspaper he did not initially come forward because he didn’t think anyone would be caught and “he feels police are unfriendly to social justice movements.”

What? Was he wearing a T-shirt that proclaimed he was a “social justice” person? Maybe it was imprinted on the top of his head or a hat….

Still smells fishy to me.

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- Eastinfection
  Posted on October 4, 2012 at 6:45pm
  lol MONK..
  
  my 1st thought was…, “yeah, if you go into the police station blabbing about redistributing the wealth, they will not be real friendly…. but i thought they were assaulted with bleach?”
  
  Report this comment
- The-Monk
  Posted on October 4, 2012 at 6:57pm
  Hi Eastinfection,
  
  Sodium Chloride and Sodium Pentathlon have different effects on most people.
  
  On “social justice” people… Sodium Chloride makes them lie. : )
  
  Report this comment
- progressiveslayer
  Posted on October 4, 2012 at 7:04pm
  Hi Monk I beg to differ,social justice types don’t need sodium chloride to make them lie,lying comes natural to them.
  
  Report this comment
- The-Monk
  Posted on October 4, 2012 at 7:10pm
  Hi Progressiveslayer,
  
  I concur. Was just having some Monk fun with my friend EastInfection.
  
  Report this comment
- Eastinfection
  Posted on October 4, 2012 at 7:11pm
  Hell MONK…. O2 & H2O makes them lie….. for all i know they use Sodium Pentathlon to wash their tighty-whiteys…. just to get immune to it.
  
  4 Liquid LSD balloons coming right up……
  
  Report this comment
- The-Monk
  Posted on October 4, 2012 at 7:30pm
  Hi Eastinfection,
  
  You’re too funny….
  
  What part of the Planet (USA I think) do you live in? The North East?
  
  Report this comment
- Eastinfection
  Posted on October 4, 2012 at 7:39pm
  Hey MONK… close…
  
  2 of my favorite quotes:
  You can take the boy out of Jersey but you can’t take the Jersey out of the boy.
  In order to speak to an equal an Irishman is forced to talk to himself or the Lord.
  
  … with that i bid you adieu for the eve Your Monkness… :)
  
  Report this comment
- The-Monk
  Posted on October 4, 2012 at 7:54pm
  OK Eastinfection,
  
  You’re just too funny. Loved the “Braveheart” quote….
  
  Report this comment
right-wing-waco
Posted on October 4, 2012 at 6:22pm
I do not know if this happened and do not condone it if it happened, but… I’m not sure if you can put bleach into a balloon without the balloon melting. Someone might try it and see how long before the balloon bursts.

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- 702TruthSeeker
  Posted on October 4, 2012 at 6:27pm
  they should switch to filling the balloons with iodine and throwing them ONLY at white people, this way no one will give a crap
  
  Report this comment
Eastinfection
Posted on October 4, 2012 at 6:21pm
Anonymous college kids acting like idiots isn’t a hate crime…..

…. unless you’re describing their hatred of sobriety, monogamy, and improperly- wrapped sandwich wraps.

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The-Monk
Posted on October 4, 2012 at 6:21pm
“According to ABC News, four students filed campus police reports on Monday saying they were targeted in incidents that occurred in June through September….”

Four individual people were attacked on 4 separate occasions between June and Sept and waited until Oct 1st to come forward and all at the same time?

Smells fishy to me….

If I was attacked bleach bomb I’d report it immediately. How ’bout you?

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- Eastinfection
  Posted on October 4, 2012 at 6:31pm
  Hey Monk…
  
  “I’d report it immediately. How ’bout you?”
  
  Not me. I’d immediately start formulating a slow, diabolical plot aimed at exacting revenge and ultimately humiliating the perpetrators publicly.
  
  Report this comment
- The-Monk
  Posted on October 4, 2012 at 6:41pm
  Hi Eastinfection,
  
  I didn’t say “who” I’d report it to.
  
  You really don’t understand us Monks…. LOL
  
  Hope all is well with you. : )
  
  Report this comment
- Eastinfection
  Posted on October 4, 2012 at 6:51pm
  LOL…. touche MONK…. well played;) …Lord Rama vs Bleach Baloon Bandits perhaps?
  
  I am well. Trust you are to.
  
  Report this comment
- The-Monk
  Posted on October 4, 2012 at 7:06pm
  Hi Eastinfection,
  
  You remembered…. LOL
  
  Of course, it takes 3 “bleach bombs” to summon Lord Rama…. : )
  
  Report this comment
Witness1974
Posted on October 4, 2012 at 6:15pm
No sooner does Ann Coulter come out with her book than they make her point. Now she’s going to have to update it. Read it: Mugged, Racial Demagoguery from the Seventies to Obama.

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endthemindlessspending
Posted on October 4, 2012 at 6:15pm
“History senior Joshua Tang, who identifies himself as an African and Chinese American, said he was walking at 26th and Pearl streets on Aug. 24 when he felt a balloon fall from above his head and hit the sidewalk”

How do you feel something fall from above your head when it never touched you? Do you have a sixth sense that no other human has. How do you know it is a hate crime never seeing the person who did it? Things blow my mind anymore. I’m sure the ACLU will be all over this. Why the heck were the police combing Facebook looking into this when it isn’t even reported yet? Did they run out of work to do and needed to look for more?

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ShyLow
Posted on October 4, 2012 at 6:14pm
Earnest T Bass is at again

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- izzy1127
  Posted on October 4, 2012 at 7:15pm
  lol. Being from NC, I can appreciate that……
  
  Report this comment
- edmundburk
  Posted on October 5, 2012 at 1:34am
  Maybe Kaiser Souse…….:)
  
  Report this comment
Maxim Crux
Posted on October 4, 2012 at 6:09pm
Everything is hate crime these days. Can’t anyone just be a criminal without hating anyone?

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- crazyrightwingmom
  Posted on October 4, 2012 at 6:23pm
  Right! I have never heard of “love crimes,” have you?
  
  Report this comment
- endthemindlessspending
  Posted on October 4, 2012 at 7:12pm
  The problem with the term “HATE CRIME,” is the very issue of who gets to say what is a hate crime. The term came when affirmative action started and was pushed by the far-left to move their agenda. From its start it was set out to only be used as a one sided issue. When Bill Cosby’s son was murdered his wife set out to make sure the world knew it was a hate crime. She came out and said America has taught her sons killer to hate blacks. There was one major flaw in her theory. Her sons killer didn’t grow up in America, he came here shortly before the robbery from Ukraine.
  
  The facts say that by far interracial crimes that are committed are black on white crimes. Yet you never hear the media or ACLU covering these crimes. You only hear about the crimes committed on black by whites. They always complain about the unjust numbers of blacks in jail. Yet when you point out the facts on crime rates it is that way because the government made them do it. The truth is the left keeps them in those situations to further an agenda. The worst thing is that blacks like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, use it to prosper rather than fight the same fight MLK fought. MLK never wanted special rules for black, he just wanted things to be even.
  
  Report this comment
demsrtraitors
Posted on October 4, 2012 at 6:01pm
you can see right through this. This is one of those liberals who make up stuff for attention and the other liberals follow along. Just like when someone ties a noose in a tree and screams racism. Only to find out it was a minorrity who did it. Furthermore where is the outrage when UT discriminates against White students because of their race??? Imagine a school saying to a black, asian, latino or a gay sorry we have enough of your kind so we need more diversity.

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- 702TruthSeeker
  Posted on October 4, 2012 at 6:19pm
  @thejerkoff go away you small minded troll
  
  Report this comment
- Capt_Gregg
  Posted on October 4, 2012 at 6:53pm
  @ THE_JERK
  I have to agree with you on this one. The “great melting pot” has become a witches’ cauldron.
  
  Report this comment
- drs1969
  Posted on October 4, 2012 at 9:04pm
  It all started with Shelley vs. Kraemer in 1948. 4 Jewish attorneys at the DOJ got restrictive covenants abolished.
  
  Report this comment
jackact
Posted on October 4, 2012 at 6:00pm
University of Texas.
100% Liberal school in a 100% liberal (off-campus) neighborhood.
The victim train continues.
Although its now out of coal to fire the engines.
Literally.

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- demsrtraitors
  Posted on October 4, 2012 at 6:13pm
  Austin or UT will not report how many Whites are attacked by blacks and latinos there. Just like EVERY LIBERAL CITY. Only whites are charged with hate crimes.
  
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702TruthSeeker
Posted on October 4, 2012 at 5:57pm
only a black person’s eyes and clothing would be impacted by bleach, this is obviously a hate crime!

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702TruthSeeker
Posted on October 4, 2012 at 5:56pm
i do not have all the facts nor did i see who threw the balloon, but i’m sure this was a hate crime by a white racist person

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- MDECKER
  Posted on October 4, 2012 at 6:06pm
  I don’t believe this happened at all. Remember, our country has been brought together in the last four years and there are no differences between the races.
  
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- OngoingFreedom
  Posted on October 4, 2012 at 7:30pm
  Aaannnd,
  
  If it turns to be black-on-black crime? What would be said then? {whistling} Nothing to see here folks. Go on about your business {/whistling}.
  
  Seriously, this was a crime, pure and simple, and someone could have been seriously injured. Stupid.
  
  Report this comment
Tri-ox
Posted on October 4, 2012 at 5:56pm
“he feels police are unfriendly to social justice movements” – Huh? Uh, what does any of this have to do with “social justice”? Whatever.

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The_Jerk
Posted on October 4, 2012 at 5:55pm
So what.

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kickagrandma
Posted on October 4, 2012 at 5:54pm
Count on it, folks. These kinds of things will escalate, but they are NOT what they appear to be.
They will be coordinated attacks by the left vs. their own hoping to stir up trouble by blaming it on us.

PRAY ON.
PRAY COVERING AND PROTECTION, CALM IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY, AND GOD’S WILL FOR HIS KIDS, AMERICA AND ISRAEL.

satan is starting to get po-ed.

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