White woman calls cops on black kids holding anti-violence march: ‘It’s like a riot out here’

A white woman in Charleston, S.C. has been dubbed “Gas Station Gail” on social media after calling 911 on a group of black children holding an anti-violence march.

A now-viral Facebook video shows the woman making the call while a group of children and their parents stand nearby wearing “Guns Down Chuck Town” T-shirts and holding anti-violence signs and flyers.

Jonathan Thrower, a community activist who recorded the video, told The Charleston City Paper that the group went to the Murphy Express convenience store and gas station during the Sunday march so some of the participants could buy something to drink, when the woman pulled up and threatened to call the police.

“I thought she was playing at first,” Thrower, who also goes by the name Shakem Akhet, told the paper. “I didn’t really think that was gonna happen.”

The City Paper obtained a recording of the 911 call, in which the woman identifies herself as “Brenda.”

“They’re standing outside my store, they’re videoing us and everything, I need a police officer here now,” the woman said in the recording. “I mean, it’s like a riot out here.”

{mosads}She tells the dispatcher that the group was “blocking the whole business” and is heard telling Thrower to stop videoing her. 

The woman also claims that some of the people in the crowd are turning off the gas pumps.

The 911 dispatcher repeatedly asks the woman if the group has guns, to which she eventually replies “I don’t know.” She also tells the dispatcher that the group is “absolutely destroying the outside” of the store.

Thrower claims in his post that Brenda is a manager at the gas station. A Murphy Express employee did not confirm to City Paper whether the woman worked at the store.

The North Charleston Police Department responded to the scene, but the group had already departed, according to City Paper.

“The North Charleston Police Department — I applaud them, because the guy was like, ‘You know, they’re just coming in to purchase something, I’m sure they‘re not causing any trouble,’ ” Thrower said.

The “Stop the Violence” marches in Charleston are intended to bring residents and police together to raise awareness about violence crime and work toward peace.