Noose put on Black worker’s chair at Oriental Trading’s Nebraska facility, company says

An employee accused of leaving a noose for a Black coworker at a popular online party supply company in Nebraska was fired, officials say.

Oriental Trading Co. CEO Steve Mendlik said the company investigated the “cowardly act,” terminated the employee and filed a police report, according to a statement to WOWT. The fired employee tied a piece of string into a noose and put it on the Black worker’s chair at a fulfillment center in La Vista, a city southwest of Omaha, the news outlet reported.

Oriental Trading, which is a Berkshire Hathaway company, is headquartered in Omaha.

“We are saddened and angry that a member of our Oriental Trading family was recently targeted in a racial incident,” Mendlik said in the statement, according to KETV. “We absolutely do not tolerate hate or racism in our company.”

The Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office says it is investigating, The Associated Press reported. Police say it could be investigated as a terroristic threat or hate crime, KMTV reported.