WASHINGTON, N.J., March 20 (UPI) -- A 16-year-old boy has been charged with a bias crime for telling black customers to leave a South Jersey Wal-Mart, police said Saturday.
Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean Dalton and Washington Township Police Chief Rafael Muniz said at a news conference the teen was arrested Friday night and released to his parents, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. They said he lives in Atlantic County, which borders Gloucester on the southeast, but would not give his name because he is a juvenile.
The incident at the Wal-Mart in Turnersville occurred Sunday. Investigators say the 16-year-old used an unwatched microphone to make a storewide announcement: "Attention, Wal-Mart shoppers: Will all the black people please leave the store. Thank you."
Muniz said examination of tapes from security cameras showed three people, later identified as the teen, a friend and the friend's mother, near the microphone just before the announcement and leaving the store quickly afterward, The New York Times reported. Investigators also searched Facebook and other social networking sites for leads.
"We got lucky," Muniz said.
