Black Texas Student Says Police Barged Into Her Dorm With Guns Over False Complaint

A Black college student in Texas said armed police officers stormed into her dorm room in the middle of the night after a false complaint was made against her by a group consisting of predominantly white students.

The incident took place at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches on Sept. 14. Christin Evans, 17, who was a freshman at the university, alleged that campus police officers barged into her room with their guns drawn at around 3:00 a.m. EDT. She said she was awakened by lights shining into her eyes.

"This could have been a Breonna Taylor circumstance," said Randall Kallinen, an attorney representing Evans, in a news conference Monday. "Luckily, the police did not shoot Christin Evans." Taylor, a 26-year-old Black emergency medical worker, was fatally shot by Louisville police officers at her home in March during a drug raid, which sparked protests across the nation.

Kallinen told NBC affiliate KPRC-TV that Evans' roommates and seven other girls, who were all adults, accused her of threatening to stab someone with scissors. Evans was cleared of any wrongdoing, he said.

Evans moved out of the dorm after the incident but was attending classes at the university. Her family said it appeared to be a case of "swatting" and demanded those responsible be punished.

"I was looking forward to making friends and having a good time on the cheer team. But since this happened, it's made it really really really hard. So like I said, I'm just taking it one day at a time," Evans told KHOU-TV.

Evans' parents, LaShondra and Chris, said police found her innocent after reviewing dorm surveillance video. "I just want justice for my daughter. She didn't do anything," LaShondra told CBS affiliate KHOU-TV.

The university police department, in a tweet Monday, said they were "investigating a racially diverse group of students" and "the students will be held accountable for their actions at every possible level."

The university president, Scott Gordon, said in another tweet that they were taking the matter "very seriously," and that an investigation was launched into the incident. "Filing a false report violates the SFA Code of Conduct and potentially violates the law as well," Gordon said in the tweet. "My heart goes out to the young woman who was an innocent victim in this matter."