HOUSTON – The president of Stephen F. Austin University said the group of students who filed a false police report against a Black freshman student that led to campus police storming the teen’s dorm room with guns drawn, broke the student code of conduct and possibly the law.
The attorney for 17-year-old Christin Evans says she was the victim of a racist set-up, orchestrated by her white roommates. On Sept. 14, the attorney said the roommates told the dorm’s resident assistant that Evans tried to attack them. The RA then called campus police who burst into Evans' dorm room at 3 a.m. while she was sleeping with guns drawn.
In a late Monday tweet, Assistant Vice President and Dean of Student Affairs Adam Peck said a student “conduct process is already underway. The police investigation is nearing conclusion.”
SFA President Dr. Scott Gordon made his first comments on the incident in a statement that was also released late Monday in the aftermath of a press conference by Christin, her parents and attorney Randy Kallinen.
“I have been briefed on the incident that took place on September 14th and want everyone to know that SFA takes this matter very seriously. Filing a false report violates the SFA Code of Conduct and potentially the law as well. The investigation and judicial processes take time. I want to urge everyone to withhold judgment until the conclusion of our investigation and process. I have directed staff to be thorough and keep me apprised throughout this investigation. Each perpetrator will be dealt with appropriately. My heart goes out to the young lady who was an innocent victim in this matter. We will do all we can to support her and her family through this heinous ordeal. We will not have this at SFA," Gordon wrote in the statement.
Kallinen says the president’s statement comes very late and that email correspondence shows Gordon had previously been made aware of the incident.
“It seems like they were trying to see if this would die down and not do anything about it,” Kallinen said.
The attorney said that simply suspending or even expelling the students will not be enough.
“They put somebody’s life in serious danger. They need some sort of criminal consequence,” he said.
University officials will hold a Wednesday press conference to address the swatting incident though they did not say what will be discussed.