Austin Restaurant Closes Amid Furor Over Owner's Outrageous Comments About Sandy Hook Victims

Editor's note: This post contains strong language that may be offensive to some readers.

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(digitaltexan.net)

Just hours after the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. on Friday, Austin business owner Eddie Nimibutr wrote on his personal Facebook page that he didn't "care if a bunch of white kids got killed."

The resulting backlash was both swift and severe. On Monday, Nimibutr's restaurant, Thai Noodle House, was forced to close its doors and turn off its lights, KEYE-TV reported. Only time will tell if the close is permanent, but the owner said the restaurant will stay closed for the time being for fear retaliation against him and his employees.

After initially refusing to apologize and telling those who disagreed with him they didn't have to eat at his restaurant, Nimibutr provided an apology of sorts to KEYE-TV, but he did not completely take back his statement.

"[It] was a bad response, I shouldn’t have said it in those words,” said Nimibutr.  "Looking back at it, it was better to say something than to be silent."

In case you missed it, this is the portion of Nimibutr's Facebook post that landed him in hot water:

“I don’t care if a bunch of white kids got killed. F**k Post-Racial bullsh*t. When kids from minority groups get shot, nobody cares. When Israel launched missiles at the school on Gaza, everybody was too busy jerking off. Why should i care about people who dont give a damn about me?”

(Austinist.com)

His offensive post quickly went viral and was picked up by local and national media. Now he says he is "shocked" and "a little bit scared too." Nimibutr claims he has been receiving death threats and people have been driving by his home and business.

“I do apologize, because maybe it was a little insensitive to write something like that, right that day the day of the shooting," he told KEYE-TV.

But the restaurant owner says he just wanted to shine light on violence around the world and mental health issues.

“Nothing is being done, I mean were talking about gun laws, you know, Congress is going to do this, Congress is going to do that,” he said.

A Facebook page calling for a boycott of the restaurant has since been created, with hundreds people demanding an apology.

To watch KEYE-TV's video report, click here.