STREAM EXCLUSIVE ORIGINALS

Man Accused Of Calling A Buffalo Tops And Threatening To Shoot Black People

The suspect also referenced a “race war.”

A Seattle man reportedly called a Tops supermarket location in Buffalo twice last week, claiming "he would make the news if he shot and killed all of the Black people in the store" including women, children and babies. He also referenced a "race war," federal prosecutors say.

According to CNN, 37-year-old Joey George is charged with two counts of making interstate threats, which included calls to a Tops not far from the location where 10 people were killed in a racist attack in May.

On Thursday (July 21), a complaint was reportedly filed in federal court in Washington alleging George called the supermarket on Tuesday and asked a worker who answered the phone how many Black people were in the store. He told the worker there was a chance he was already in the store or nearby and that if he didn’t see anyone in the store, he’d travel to the Tops where the deadly shooting took place in May.

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Additionally, the complaint reveals that George said he was "a really good shot and could pick off people from the parking lot" and said he had assault rifles and other weapons.

George then allegedly called the following day and “ranted about a ‘race war’ and said, ‘This is what happens in a blue state.’” He is also charged with calling a restaurant in San Bruno, Calif. on May 12 and threatened to shoot "any Black or Hispanic patrons if the restaurant did not close within twenty minutes."

George allegedly told a San Bruno cop who called his cell phone that he wanted to "attack Black people and strike fear into the Bay Area's Black community," according to the complaint.

"The Buffalo community is trying to heal from the horrific shooting at a Tops grocery store. I cannot imagine the type of fear such hate fueled threats engendered in those just trying to go about their daily lives", Nick Brown, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington, said, according to CNN. "We cannot tolerate this kind of hate in our community and will not sit by while people seek to terrorize others across our country."

George is currently being held at a federal detention center in SeaTac, Washington. He was scheduled for an initial court appearance on Friday.

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