The video, posted by one of the students of Florida A&M University, Isiah Butterfield, shows the man holding a gun and using his body to prevent the students from entering the building of a student housing complex on Saturday. The video has been viewed more than 320,000 times on Twitter. "...We are sick of the discrimination," said Butterfield in the tweet. "Never thought I’d have a personal experience with racism like this..." The incident is under investigation under Florida's statute of aggravated assault with deadly weapon without intent to kill, the Tallahassee Police Department said. "Once we found out he had the gun, it turned into a whole different situation," Butterfield told ABC News. "We really think he was trying to provoke us to the point where it got violent so he could retaliate with the gun. I knew that if this dude even feels threatened, he's going to find any excuse to pull the trigger." ABC News reached out to the man in the video, Don Crandall, for comment and will update the story if he responds. Butterfield said the encounter with Crandall started when the four students were waiting outside the apartment complex for their friend to let them in to join a party. Crandall told them they weren't getting into the building, went inside and locked the door. "We were just sitting there confused, like why did he even say anything to us?" Butterfield said. Then Crandall came out, again, to reiterate the point and that's when Butterfield started recording the events on his phone. That was also when another white student, a resident of the building, tried to intervene on their behalf and let them in, urging Crandall to "keep walking" and "just go about your day." We really think he was trying to provoke us to the point where it got violent so he could retaliate with the gun In the video, Crandall, who appears to be considerably older than the young students and was confirmed to not be a resident of the building, trades insults with the white student as the black students stand watching quietly. Afterward, they all enter the building but Crandall refused to let them enter the elevator with him. "Find another elevator, you can't get in this one," he said, blocking their way as the four students tried to enter it. "Why not? Do you own the building?" the students asked. "Because you don't belong in this building," he replied, before adding, "You ain't got a key for the building, you don't belong in the elevator." The man took out a key to show them, which was when the students noticed he had a gun in his hand. "Sir, you bring out your gun. What's your purpose for that?" one of the students asked. "Oh, I'm sorry. Excuse me. Forgive me," he said, trying to hide it behind him. The white student sided with the black students throughout the ordeal. Butterfield acknowledged his support on Twitter for "standing by us ... that’s a real dude right there." The apartment complex, Stadium Centre, said the man did not live in the building. "We are aware of the video posted on social media over the weekend and reported this incident immediately to the police," the apartment complex said in a statement. "Firearms are strictly prohibited on our property and we take this matter very seriously. We are cooperating with the police during their investigation and it has been determined that the person in the elevator is not a resident. Moreover, we are firmly committed to fostering a diverse residential community that is inclusive and welcoming to all." Though the police did not give any further information on the incident, the man was identified by Twitter users as Don Crandall, the general manager of a local hotel, Baymont by Wyndham. When ABC News reached out to the hotel for comment, the hotel confirmed his identity and said he was no longer working there. "The man you are talking about is no longer employed with us and does not represent the values of our company and how others should be treated," an employee with the hotel said, declining to say whether he had been fired. Later, the hotel posted on its Instagram account, apologizing on behalf of Crandall and saying it "did not stand behind the actions of our former General Manager." "Our team has gone ahead and took the actions that were necessary to uphold our beliefs," the hotel added. It does not appear that the man had any authority on who was to enter the student housing building. Stadium Centre told ABC News that it was in no way affiliated or associated with the hotel or its parent organization. Part of the incident had been captured on camera, the university said in an email to ABC News. "Florida A&M University (FAMU) learned that on Saturday, Sept. 8, at least one FAMU student was the alleged victim of an off-campus incident, which was captured on camera," the school told ABC News. "Our students' safety is our first priority. The Tallahassee Police Department (TPD) is investigating the matter; therefore, FAMU cannot disclose additional details. The University will provide assistance as it is requested by TPD. For more information, please contact TPD's Public Information Office at (850) 891-4255."<doc-sep>Police in Florida have opened an investigation into a disturbing video which shows a white man holding a gun while blocking several Black Florida A&M students from entering an apartment complex where their friend lives. In the video, several students attempt to enter the Stadium Centre apartments where their friend had recently moved in. The man blocks the students from entering and insults them before walking into the elevator and blocking them once again. At the elevator, the man can be heard telling the FAMU students they were not getting into the building unless they were residents with keys. During the incident, another white resident intervened to help the FAMU students enter the building. “Chad stepped in to help us because the other white man was being racist by not letting us in," Isaiah Thomas, one of the four FAMU students, told the Famuan, as reported by the Tallahassee Democrat. These are the kind of people that are burning Nike products , we are sick of the discrimination 🗣 never thought I’d have a personal experience with racism like this, this man pulled a gun on us because we were walking up to my friends apartment w/o a key pic.twitter.com/TlMFQjoM1N — zay❕ (@_IsaiahNoThomas) September 8, 2018 While the group was at the elevator, the man began waving a gun around that he held in his hand. “Sir, you bring out your gun. What’s your purpose for that?” asks one of the FAMU students. “Oh, I’m sorry. Excuse me. Forgive me,” the man says. Officer Damon Miller, a spokesman for the Tallahassee Police Department, said the department was notified following the late afternoon Saturday incident. Although the man’s name hasn’t been released by the Tallahassee Police Department, people on social media identified him as Don Crandall, a hotel manager with the Pat Hotel Group at the Baymont Inn & Suites by Wyndham Hotels, reported WTXL. "We are aware of the exchange that took place and are troubled by it," said Kathryn Zambito, director of global communications for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc. "While we do not own or operate the hotel in question, nor do we employ the people who work there, we are looking into the situation with the hotel’s owner." The Tallahassee Community Action Committee, a local activist group, is calling for the person in the video to be fired and say the exchange and his display of a gun is racially motivated. No arrest has been made at this time. Written by Rachel Herron<doc-sep>Tallahassee Police are investigating an incident in which four Black Florida A&M University students had a gun pulled on them by a white man at an apartment complex for off-campus student housing. Featured Video Hide The man, identified as Don Crandall, told the students they weren’t allowed to get into the apartment complex, nor ride the elevator with him, according to a video of the incident that has gone viral. Crandall has since been fired from his job as a hotel general manager. Advertisement Hide According to BuzzFeed News, Isaiah Butterfield and his three friends, Fitzroy Rhoden, Stephen Brooks, Joshua Cosby—all juniors at FAMU, a historically Black college—were going to a friend’s apartment at the Stadium Centre apartment complex on Saturday for a party. While in the parking garage, waiting for the friend, Zavian Flowers, to let them in, Crandall walked past them and told them they couldn’t come in. “Then he turned and he said, ‘You aren’t getting in here if you don’t have a key,’” Butterfield told the publication. “We were shook because we hadn’t said anything to him. We were just standing there and then he closed the door and locked it.” Butterfield said that moments later, Crandall came back and began harassing them. Another random white man, who Butterfield said was “Chad,” saw the interaction and began confronting Crandall for the students. In a video Butterfield later posted to Twitter, Chad and Crandall are in a verbal argument as the students watch on. “You’re not just man enough to go about your day… We’re just here chilling, you just want to run your mouth,” Chad says. Advertisement Hide “Look, limp dick, don’t fucking walk into a conversation that’s none of your—” Crandall says. “Where are you going?” Chad asks. “Where am I going? I am going upstairs to get laid, what are you doing, limp dick?” Crandall replies. Crandall then walks inside the building toward the elevator and tells the other men to find their own, because that’s “[his] elevator.” Another student challenges him, saying, “If you own the building, let me know.” Crandall again repeats that they’re not getting in the elevator, and says they don’t belong and don’t have a key. After Chad shows that he has a key, Crandall says, “You think I’m fucking kidding?” Crandall then pulls out a gun and holds it in a fist, his cellphone in his other hand. He then shows the other men his key. Advertisement Hide “Are you a police officer? Sir, you bring out your gun? What’s your purpose of that?” asks Rhoden. “Oh, I’m sorry. Excuse me. Forgive me,” Crandall says. The men then back up from the elevator as Crandall puts the gun into his back pocket. Flowers then appeared to take his friends up to his apartment. https://twitter.com/_IsaiahNoThomas/status/1038447860054990848 On Twitter, Butterfield’s video has garnered more than 300,000 views and has been shared more than 6,000 times. Many have responded in relief that the men weren’t physically harmed in the altercation. Advertisement Hide Im so sorry yall had to experience this though. All of yall.. Thank God yall are okay. “Stand your ground” law does not work for black people. — D (@D3NVUR) September 8, 2018 https://twitter.com/voodoochld/status/1038714991841607680 https://twitter.com/ilamarchae/status/1038484483320758273 Literally y’all are covered in the blood of Jesus. I’m glad y’all okay and I continue to pray for my friends and this world that we live in. — Erica Tyler, BSN (@_etyler) September 8, 2018 Tallahassee Police told BuzzFeed News that the students called them before 2p.m. the next day to file a police report. They’re currently investigating, and Florida A&M University is looking into the incident. Stadium Centre’s management told the publication that it’s cooperating with police, and that “firearms are prohibited on [the] property.” Stadium Centre messaged residents as well, stating that Crandall is not a resident. Advertisement Hide READ MORE: On a Facebook event titled “Arrest and Fire Don Crandall!” an account for his employer, Baymont by Wyndham Tallahassee Central, announced that Crandall had been fired as general manager. “This afternoon we, Pax Hotel Group, were informed of an incident that involved our General Manager of The Baymont by Wyndham of Tallahassee Central. Pax Hotel Group believes in bringing up and adding to the communities we are apart [sic] of. Our team has gone ahead and took the actions that were necessary to uphold our beliefs,” the statement reads. Advertisement Hide “While at work or out in our every day lives we expect our employees to have this core value [to treat others the way you would like to be treated] in mind, we would like to apologize to those affected by the actions of our former employee,” the statement concluded. A front desk staff member at the Baymont by Wyndham Tallahassee Central confirmed with the Daily Dot that Crandall is no longer an employee of the hotel. Butterfield said that he’s stunned, though not surprised, that Crandall pulled a gun on them “for no reason whatsoever.” “People fly Confederate flags here and there are people who say off-the-wall stuff all the time because they feel that they can,” Butterfield said. H/T BuzzFeed News<doc-sep>Authorities in Tallahassee, Florida, issued an arrest warrant earlier this week for a white male who pulled a gun on four black college students to stop them from getting into a student housing complex without a key. On Saturday, ABC News reported that police issued the warrant for Donald Crandall Jr.—the white male seen in the video shared by one of the students—on Friday for improperly exhibiting a firearm. "After reviewing all of the evidence and consulting with the State Attorney's Office, a warrant was obtained for Donald Crandall, Jr.," police said in a statement. Tallahassee police officer Damon Miller told the publication on Saturday that "the warrant has been issued at this time, but as of right now he has not been arrested." "I do not know his whereabouts at this time," he added. Earlier this month, Florida A&M student Isaiah Butterfield, one of the black victims, posted a video of the incident to Twitter, claiming they were the subject of racial discrimination. "These are the kind of people that are burning Nike products, we are sick of the discrimination never thought I'd have a personal experience with racism like this, this man pulled a gun on us because we were walking up to my friends apartment w/o a key," he wrote alongside the clip. These are the kind of people that are burning Nike products , we are sick of the discrimination _ never thought Iâd have a personal experience with racism like this, this man pulled a gun on us because we were walking up to my friends apartment w/o a key pic.twitter.com/TlMFQjoM1N — zayâ (@_IsaiahNoThomas) September 8, 2018 In the footage, Crandall and the four black students can be seen arguing over entering the elevator in the apartment complex. The black students appear to be accompanied by another white student, although it is unclear whether he knew them or was a bystander. "This is my elevator," Crandall can be heard saying. "Do you own it? Let me know if you own it," one of the boys snapped back. "Let me be clear," Crandall continued, before pulling out a gun. "You aren't getting in this elevator. You got a key for this building? You don't got a key for the building, you don't belong in the elevator." The incident occured at the Stadium Centre apartment complex. Crandall does not live in or work for the building. Since it was posted on September 8, the video has been, viewed almost half a million times, liked over 10,000 times and retweeted by nearly 7,000 users. After the video went viral, Crandall, who was working for Pax Hotel Group, was fired by his employers. "Pax Hotel Group wants to assure the public that the former General Manager of the Baymont by Wyndham, Tallahassee Central was terminated on Monday afternoon once we were made aware of the incident," the company posted to Instagram. "He has not been transferred or rehired at any of Pax Hotel Group's properties. His employment with Pax Hotel Group has been terminated."<doc-sep>
The Tallahassee Police are investigating allegations by four black students at Florida A&M University that a white man brandished a gun and harassed them at an off-campus apartment complex. The weekend altercation, which was captured in a social media video, shows a man in a baseball cap denying the students entry to the building and elevator in the Stadium Centre residence before pulling out a gun. According to the police report, the incident occurred at 12:30 a.m. Saturday and is being investigated as an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, without intent to kill. Isaiah Butterfield, a junior at Florida A&M who filmed the incident, told NBC News that he and his friends were waiting to be let into the building by another friend, a resident of the complex, when the man approached them. “He walked past us and opened the door and he told us we weren’t getting into the building unless we had a key,” Butterfield said. “We were thinking, 'Why would he even say anything to us?' We were confused.” After the man approached the students a second time, Butterfield decided to start recording. “In Tallahassee, there’s a lot of people with their own racial opinions,” said Butterfield. “It doesn’t sound like a place where people of color are invited or welcomed.” These are the kind of people that are burning Nike products , we are sick of the discrimination never thought I’d have a personal experience with racism like this, this man pulled a gun on us because we were walking up to my friends apartment w/o a key pic.twitter.com/TlMFQjoM1N — zay (@_IsaiahNoThomas) September 8, 2018 The video posted on Butterfield's Twitter account begins with a shirtless white man, who Butterfield and his friends identified as “Chad,” confronting the man on behalf of the students. The two have an altercation, with Chad asking the man: “What’s your problem? You’re not just man enough to go about your day?” “We literally met Chad that night. We didn’t really know Chad like that,” Butterfield said. “He was there and heard what was going on, and he stepped up. I commend him for that.” Inside the building, the man tells the students to find another elevator, declaring to them, “this is my elevator.” As the altercation escalates, the man pulls out his gun and keeps it by his side. “He made sure that we saw the gun,” said Butterfield. “He was holding his arm in a way to emphasize.” A man pulled out a gun during an altercation with students at an off-campus residence in Tallahassee at Florida A&M University. _IsaiahNoThomas / Twitter One of the students, Fitzroy Rhoden, is heard in the video asking the man: “Sir, you bring out your gun. What’s your purpose for that?” The man then apologizes and puts the gun in his back pocket. Despite the weapon being out, Butterfield wasn’t concerned that the man would shoot at them, saying he thought it was more of a “if you make me use it, I’m going to use it” kind of threat. The students began to ask the older man if he is a resident of the building, considering the apartments were predominately rented by college students. “My friend asked him, ‘Do you even live here, where’s your key?’” said Butterfield. The video then shows the man respond, pulling out keys and a gun. In an email shared by Butterfield, Stadium Centre management addressed the situation, stating: "We are cooperating with the police during their investigation and it has been determined that the person in the elevator is not a resident. Firearms are prohibited on our property and we take this matter very seriously." Tallahassee police spokesman, Damon Miller Jr., told NBC News the department is still conducting interviews as part of the investigation. Many on social media are identifying the man in the video as the general manager of Baymont Inn & Suites Tallahassee Central. On Tuesday, Baymont Tallahassee released a statement on their Instagram account confirming they were aware of the situation and that the general manager has since been fired. The man identified in reports did not respond to request for comment from NBC News on Wednesday. After the incident, Butterfield says he felt embarrassed and singled out by the man, but recognizes the altercation as being bigger than a local issue.