Walmart prank 'disturbing': YouTube, Facebook clues help nab teen

The 16-year-old boy who allegedly asked "all black people" to leave a South Jersey Walmart last week is the latest in a long line of pranksters who've baffled customers with odd announcements in the retailer's stores across the country.

But while others have hijacked the public-address system to slash prices, play music or page Jesus and Michael Vick, authorities say that the announcement at the Washington Township, Gloucester County, Walmart was no prank.

"He didn't just go on the loudspeaker and say basketballs are half-priced for the next half-hour," Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean Dalton said. "He said something a little more disturbing."

On Saturday, Dalton and the Washington Township Police Department announced the arrest of the 16-year-old Atlantic County resident who picked up a phone in the store's home-and-garden section on March 14 and said "Attention, Walmart customers: All black people, leave the store now."

A law-enforcement source said that the teen was a white student at Buena Regional High School, in Buena Vista Township, Atlantic County. He was arrested and charged with harassment and bias intimidation before being released to his parents.

Washington Township police could not be reached for comment yesterday, but Dalton said that YouTube and the social-networking site Facebook helped nab the teenager.

"There had been some chatter about this on social-networking sites," he said.

Walmart officials said that the incident at the South Jersey store was "appalling" and that they've taken steps to fix the public-address system at the store, but PA breaches are nothing new for the corporation.

There's an entire Web site dedicated to Walmart pranks, and YouTube has hundreds of videos of teens and young adults accessing the intercoms at stores. There's even a Facebook page dedicated to the code pranksters need to push to get on the PA system.

One YouTube poster claims that a video of a male impersonating a professional wrestler on the PA system was taken at the Washington Township store.

Loretta Winters, president of the Gloucester County NAACP, said that there have been race-related announcements at the Washington Township store in the past and that police are looking into them.

"The manager said it was almost the same thing verbatim," she said. "The first time it happened, they took it as a prank. It doesn't make any sense that these systems would be open to the public."

At the Walmart on Columbus Boulevard, in South Philadelphia, shoppers said that they had never heard odd or racist comments over the PA system, but there were mixed opinions over the severity of the South Jersey case.

Shirley Outlaw, a teacher in Center City, said the case was being blown out of proportion.

"I think he took advantage of an opportunity and did something dumb," Outlaw said. "It was spur of the moment, obviously not well thought out, and I don't think it was derogatory."

Dolores Coker, 30, said the announcement was more proof that kids "make no sense."

"I don't know what goes through their heads," she said.

Another woman, who asked not the be identified, said that she would have been very offended if she heard the announcement.

"It's obvious racism exists in this country," she said. "It's sad, but not everyone would understand."