Wal-Mart Intercom Teen Made Page Before: Police

Teen who allegedly asked all black people to leave Wal-Mart over PA system charged in second incident

The teen charged with saying a hateful message over a South Jersey Wal-Mart's public address system committed the same act months before.

The 16-year-old boy from Buena, N.J. allegedly obtained access to the Washington Township store's intercom on March 14 and said "Attention Wal-Mart customers: All black people leave the store now."

Surveillance cameras apparently captured the teen making the page from one of the store's 25 phones, according to police.

Police later caught up to the teen after they allegedly found him bragging about the incident on Facebook and YouTube.

But Thursday, authorities said the store turned over information and new surveillance footage showing the teen, who remains unidentified because he is a minor, committing the same act on December 28.

The December 2009 incident wasn't reported to police until the latest incident occurred, officials said.

Shoppers inside the store at the time of the March incident were appalled to hear the message and later boycotted the store.

"It was a disgusting comment," Sheila Ellington said earlier this month. "Once I heard that, I was absolutely shocked and appalled."

The store was also scrutinized for allowing easy access to the PA system.

"They could do better things to secure those phones, but they don't follow those protocols," according to former employee Bill Mitchell. "That's Wal-Mart."

The retail chain immediately apologized after the incident and later made changes to the phone system to restrict intercom access.

As for the teen, he's been charged with harassment and bias intimidation. He was released to his parent's care.

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