Everyone shelter in place until all scary-looking trash has been cleared.
Via Campus Reform:
University of Maryland campus police launched an investigation into a discarded piece of plastic wrap Tuesday after receiving a report about a “possible hate-bias” incident.
“Out of an abundance of concern, we are looking into this matter and conducting a review of our cameras in the area,” the department informed students via email, though The Diamondback reports that some students were upset when officers initially dismissed the object as garbage.
A UMD student tweeted a picture of the plastic wrap suggesting he was convinced that the detritus was intended to resemble a noose because it had been “under a tree at frat row,” alluding to an actual noose that was reportedly found in a fraternity house in April.
“Police say that since it wasn’t hanging…it’s just trash,” the student remarks, inserting a skeptical emoji before asking viewers to “Make your own conclusions.”
In response, another student remarked that “I’m sick and tired of all these fucking nooses.”
“Earlier today, we were notified of a knotted piece of plastic wrap laying on the ground in the 7500 block of Baltimore Ave. Police were notified out of concern for possible hate-bias,” the campus police department stated in its report on the incident.