Chance the Rapper performs at The Meadows Festival on Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016. (Vicky Ford/Sneakshot)
Photo Credit: Vicky Ford of Sneakshot for Okayplayer
Photo by Vicky Ford for Sneakshot/Okayplayer
A string of bombings have been taking place throughout Austin, Texas, with three out of five incidents targeting people of color in the city. Now, Chance the Rapper has spoken out against the attacks.
READ: There Have Been Four Bombings In Austin, Texas Over The Last Month
"Someone is serial murdering Black and Latino men and women in Texas right now," the Chicago rapper wrote on Twitter. "One of them was just a boy. Hold your leaders accountable. Even if you aren’t from Texas, your elected officials should be talking about this. #AustinBombings"
The first three Austin bombings targeted people of color. As Slate reports, The first bombing occurred on March 2 when 39-year-old Anthony Stephan House was killed on the porch of his house by a package bomb in Haverford Drive in northeast Austin. The second and third one occurred a week later on March 12; the first one was placed on a doorstep and brought into the home of 17-year-old Draylen Mason where it proceeded to detonate, Killing Mason and injuring his mother. The second one happened at noon, badly injuring but not killing a 75-year-old Latina woman, Esperanza Herrera.
Following the attacks the NAACP issued a statement warning members in the city of potentially dangerous packages.
"We are urging our members to pay attention in their communities and to exercise caution when around any packages," NAACP Austin President Nelson Lindersaid. "We are asking parents to inform their youth to stay away from anything left on their doorsteps or at their homes. This is a time for us to communicate and keep in other informed regarding any type of strange behavior in our neighborhoods."
During the annual SXSW festival that takes place in Austin, The Roots' "Roots and Friends" event was canceled after a man claimed to plant a bomb at the venue where the performance was scheduled to take place. Fortunately, no bombs were found at the venue and the suspect, Trevor Weldon Ingram, was arrested and charged with third-degree felony charges of making a terroristic threat. However, it seems this incident was unrelated to the string of bombings occurring in Austin.
Source: Slate
