Northwest Missouri State student from Blue Springs is arrested in investigation of online racist threats

A Northwest Missouri State University freshman from Blue Springs was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of making racist threats on social media.

Campus police arrested Connor B. Stottlemyre, 19, about 11 a.m. at his dormitory after another student reported seeing threats of violence against blacks on the social media platform Yik Yak, according to university spokesman Mark Hornickel.

Hornickel said the messages read in part: “I’m gonna shoot any black people tomorrow, so be ready.”

Stottlemyre had not yet been charged Wednesday night and was held at the Nodaway County jail in Maryville on a 24-hour investigative hold. He was arrested on suspicion of making a terroristic threat.

Hornickel said that it was not clear what prompted the alleged threat and that authorities had not linked the incident to threats of violence at the University of Missouri campus in Columbia.

“We don’t know what his motive was,” Hornickel said.

This story was originally published November 11, 2015 at 6:51 PM with the headline "Northwest Missouri State student from Blue Springs is arrested in investigation of online racist threats."