Photo: Getty Images
A Walgreens employee has been placed on leave after she allegedly threatened to call the cops on two Black children shopping in the store.
In a TikTok video that's gone viral, one of the kids said he and his cousin were shopping for a snack at Walgreens when they were racially profiled by an employee.
“This lady to the side she said if you guys don’t leave, I’m calling the cops,” he said.
The kids, age 11 and 12, were allegedly kicked out of the store before reentering with their grandmother, who confronted the staffer.
“My grandson came in here to purchase something, and what did you say to him?” the grandmother asked the worker in the video.
“I said he can come and purchase it right here with me or he can leave because I’ve had a bunch of kids come in and steal," the worker responded.
The grandmother proceeded to call out the employee for her treatment of the children.
“They have every right to come into the store and purchase what they want without being harassed by you," she said. “Why would you call the cops on children when they haven’t done anything to you? If they were white kids, you wouldn’t do it.”
Video of the incident garnered over 1 million views on TikTok as of Tuesday (August 15).
“Racial profiling begins at a young age for African Americans — but you won’t get away with it — NOT on our WATCH,” the video's caption reads.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Walgreens addressed the viral video, saying the employee had been put on leave.
“This team member has been placed on leave while we investigate the incident," spokesperson Kris Lathan said in a statement, per the Shade Room. We believe everyone should be welcome and treated with respect at our stores. We take these matters seriously, and our policies strictly prohibit any form of discrimination or racial profiling and any such incident will not be tolerated.”
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