A Sacramento cultural institution reportedly received a chilling voicemail that threatened to kill Black children in the area.
Police currently doubt the threat’s credibility, yet local Black Lives Matter leaders urge families to remain cautious and implement safety measures for their children.
The Sojourner Truth African Heritage Museum says it received the voicemail at around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, July 30. In response, the museum’s founder forwarded a copy of the voicemail to Black Lives Matter Sacramento (BLMS) to bring attention to the issue and make it public.
BLMS released a screen recording of the menacing audio on its Facebook page later in the day.
“In California, agendas are active to murder Black children in the Sacramento area. Murders are to be in cold blood with no remorse,” an automated voice that appeared to be AI-generated said. “The intel relay has contacted more than 100 schools in the Sacramento area to structure this agenda.”
Shonna McDaniels, the founder of the Sojourner Truth African Heritage Museum, released a statement to KCRA 3 regarding the voicemail expressing her shock.
“I couldn’t believe someone would leave a voicemail on our phone talking about harming Black children,” Daniels said. “At first, I thought it was maybe a prank, but in the world we live in today, I take all threats seriously. I wish in 2023 folks would get over all the hatred and do some soul-searching to have peace for humanity. I’m sending a message for parents and community members to be on alert to take this message seriously.”
The audio has been turned over to the Sacramento Police Department.
SPD released a statement on its social media saying their detectives have been actively investigating the voicemail and have conducted a preliminary assessment that indicates the threat lacks credibility. Despite this initial finding, the detectives are persistently pursuing further investigation into the matter.
Tanya Faison, founder of Black Lives Matter Sacramento, said the voicemail was probably left from a dead-end phone number. However, she is not willing to just brush it off as a prank.
“We don’t know how valid it is, because folks who usually warn you aren’t really doing that. But we don’t know how stupid they are either. They might just be dumb. It’s always good to stay on your toes, and be prepared for anything to happen and make sure that our schools are protecting our babies,” Faison said to ABC 10.
BLMS also wanted to be clear their intention was not to cause alarm — only to create awareness.
“That’s the message that I wanted to give out. Don’t panic. Don’t freak out, but figure out what you need to do to keep your family safe and get ready to do it,” the BLM community activist said.
Police urged the community to report any similar voicemails or provide leads regarding the perpetrator of the threatening message at the museum.
