Mugshot of Courtney Chancellor, the delivery driver who lied about being robbed at gunpoint by a Black male. Photo courtesy of ABC 17 News.
A Jimmy John’s delivery woman is in hot water after she lied to police about being robbed at gunpoint by an African-American man at the University of Missouri last Thursday.
According to the Columbia Daily Tribune, Courtney Chancellor, 23, was arrested and released with a citation for filing a false report with authorities. Chancellor, who delivers orders for the popular sub sandwich chain, contacted campus police at 8:35 p.m. Thursday to report that she had been robbed. The delivery woman described her assailant as a Black man in his 20’s, who stood about 6 feet tall with facial hair and a large tattoo on his upper arm.
Chancellor is not a student at the university.
The school quickly sent out an alert to students, faculty and staff, warning them about the fictional Black man who “flashed a gun near Wolpers Hall and demanded money” from a delivery driver.
“MU police officers are currently investigating the situation,” the alert read. “Safety is the university’s top priority and we are working hard to assure that the campus remains safe while information is obtained and confirmed.”
Local station KCTV5 News even tweeted the warning to surrounding communities.
#BREAKING: Univ. of Missouri police are looking for a man that's possibly armed following robbery near Wolpers Hall. pic.twitter.com/jt9i1dNt4X
— KCTV5 News (@KCTV5) September 2, 2016
Per the Columbia Daily Tribune, the Columbia Police Department aided the MU campus police in its investigation as they reviewed surveillance video from the area that night. However, Chancellor was the only one who appeared in the footage, confirming that the robbery never took place. That’s when the sandwich girl confessed to fabricating the entire story.
“There was a substantial amount of resources, both from first responders and those who were assisting, with this false report,” said MU spokesperson Christian Basi.
Around 9:45 p.m., authorities alerted students, faculty and staff that there was no longer an immediate threat on campus, the local paper reports. Another update on the incident was released at 1:19 a.m., announcing that no robbery had taken place.
MU police Chief Doug Schwandt said there is still no known motive behind Chancellor’s false report or why she chose to stereotype the “robber” as a Black male.
