- Young white students at a Minnesota were seen on camera calling their Black classmate the n-word and encouraging her to take her own life.
- Police and Prior High School administrators say they are investigating.
- Nya Sigin, the targeted Black teen, struggles with her mental health, Minneapolis NBC affiliate says.
Police are investigating a racist viral video where young white girls are seen on camera calling their Black classmate the n-word and encouraging her to take her own life.
The 59-second video shows a group of white students laughing and giggling in the dark as they call, Nya Sigin, a Black 14-year-old student, a racial slur and telling her to hang herself.
"Nobody likes n—ers," the girls said laughing. "Fucking kill yourself right this time, do it fucking right. Cut deep enough this time or fucking tie the rope higher."
—Bishop Talbert Swan (@TalbertSwan) November 13, 2021
Sigin told CNN the video was originally posted on social media in September but a classmate shared the clip with her last Monday.
According to Sigin, the white girls in the video would routinely harass and bully her.
Sigin's older sister, Elizabeth, who's also a student at Prior High School, told CNN she posted the video with her sister's permission on her own Snapchat story since many classmates were asking to see it last week.
Students then began to report the video to an anonymous police tip line.
At a news conference held on Thursday, police said they are investigating the video. And Prior High School said they are also looking into the video.
"It was late Monday evening when I was advised of a horrific, hateful, racist video that was posted on a social media platform," Savage Police Chief Rodney Seurer said at a news conference Thursday. "This is not tolerated here."
After school let out Thursday, Minneapolis area activists and community members held a rally in support of Sigin. And the Minneapolis chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People demanded that Prior High School officials be transparent throughout their investigation and that they listen to the experiences of Black students.
—Russ Weseman (@RWesemanKMSP) November 11, 2021
Minneapolis' NBC affiliate reported that Sigin struggles with her mental health and attempted to take her own life last spring.
Sigin's story comes on the heels of another Black student in Utah who faced harassment by white students at her school ultimately resulting in her taking her own life.
Isabella "Izzy" Tichenor a 10-year-old, Black and autistic girl enrolled in Davis School District in Farmington, Utah, died by suicide on Nov. 6, weeks after the US Department of Justice released a report exposing the district's mishandling of racial harassment complaints filed by Black and Asian American families.
Sigin told CNN her focus now is ensuring there is action and justice from her school and local government officials.
"I just want people to know that I'm so beyond thankful for all the support," Nya told CNN. "It just makes me feel so loved and supported knowing that there are other people out there that have my back."