UIC Student Who Threatened To Shoot 'White Devils' At UChicago To Be Released On Bond
By Rachel Cromidas in News on Dec 1, 2015 3:20PM
The UIC student who has been accused of threatening to bring a gun to the University of Chicago's campus and shoot 16 while students or staff—one for every time Laquan McDonald was shot by a Chicago police officer with in a recent high-profile murder case—will be released on bond Tuesday.
Federal Judge Susan Cox ordered Jabari R. Dean, 21, to spend Monday night in federal custody after he was arrested Monday for posting the online threats to worldstarhiphop.com. Cox said Dean should be released on bond during a court hearing Monday afternoon, but first he would spend the night in federal custody and be brought back to court Tuesday where his mother is expected to appear in court as his third-party custodian.
Authorities have said there was no gun found in Dean's possession or home, which leads them to believe he didn't have the ability to carry out his threat. He is facing up to five years in prison, according to the Sun-Times. Dean's attorney told the court that he does not pose a threat, and Dean's uncle told reporters that he was just being "a stupid kid."
The University of Chicago canceled classes and campus activities Monday as a precautionary in response to the threat, which was brought to officials' attention by the FBI. Classes and other university operations have resumed Tuesday, according to a statement released by President Robert J. Zimmer. He also said the university will keep a beefed up security presence in place for the next few weeks as the school concludes its fall quarter.
"We are deeply grateful to the University of Chicago Police Department, the FBI, the Chicago Police Department, and other law enforcement offices for their timely, professional, and effective response to this security concern," Zimmer wrote. "We are also indebted to our elected officials for their support. I want to express my great admiration for and appreciation of members of our community — including faculty, students, staff, and friends — for their mutually supportive and thoughtful approach in what has been a challenging day."
Dean's chilling threat comes less than week after the Chicago Police Department released a disturbing video of a white police officer fatally shooting a black teenager, McDonald, 16 times in a matter of seconds. Dean said he wanted to kill 16 white male students or staff members at the school in an apparent retaliation.
“This is my only warning. At 10 a.m. on Monday mourning (sic) I am going to the campus quad of the University of Chicago. I will be armed with a M-4 Carbine and 2 Desert Eagles all fully loaded. I will execute aproximately (sic) 16 white male students and or staff, which is the same number of time (sic) Mcdonald (sic) was killed. I then will die killing any number of white policemen that I can in the process. This is not a joke. I am to do my part to rid the world of the white devils. I expect you to do the same….”