The attorney for the family of a Black freshman student at Stephen F. Austin State University says she was the victim of a racist set-up, orchestrated by her white roommates, that led to police storming her dorm room in the middle of the night with guns drawn.
“I feel shaken. I don’t even know how to think. I can’t sleep at night because of this. It has made me really paranoid,” said 17-year-old Christin Evans.
The incident happened on September 14 on the Stephen F. Austin University campus located in Nacogdoches, Texas.
Civil rights attorney Randall Kallinen says the teen was awoken at 3 a.m. by university police officers bursting in her room with guns drawn.
“Their daughter was sleeping and awoken at 3 o’clock in the morning by local police with flashlights shining out and their guns drawn. This could have been a Breonna Taylor circumstance,” Kallinen said during a news conference Monday afternoon.
Kallinen says the teen’s three white roommates, along with as many as seven other girls, initiated the “swatting” by telling their resident assistant that Evans was trying to attack them. The RA then called campus police.
“They had falsely accused Christin of having scissors and threatening to stab people,” he said.
Christin’s parents, LaShondra and Chris Evans say they expected swift action from the university, citing text messages from the University Police Chief that read that dorm surveillance video proves their daughter’s innocence.
“I just want justice for my daughter. She didn’t do anything,” LaShondra Evans said.
The university did not respond to direct questions about the incident from KPRC 2 but sent a video-recorded statement from the University Police Chief John Fields.
“The university is investigating a racially diverse group of students in an incident involving a false report to the university police department. The students responsible will be held accountable for their actions at every possible level,” Fields said in the video.
Christin Evans' parents said the majority of the students involved in the incident are white.
The Clear Lake High School graduate was recruited to SFA to cheer but says the incident has ruined her freshman year.
“I was looking forward to making friends and having a good time on the cheer team, but since this has happened, it’s made it really, really hard,” she said, holding back tears.
The university moved Christin Evans from the four-person dorm suite and has not said whether her roommates and the other students will face disciplinary action at the university level or criminal charges.