A Florida man was fired from his job at a local hotel after he was spotted on video confronting four Florida A&M University students in the elevator of a downtown Tallahassee apartment building.
Don Crandall, who was identified on social media, was terminated by the Pax Hotel Group after a video of the incident went viral. In the clip, Crandall blocks four students (three of whom are Black) from entering the elevator at the the Stadium Centre apartment complex because he believed they did not belong.
According to Crandall, the students shouldn’t have been on the elevator because they did not have a key to the building. However, when they informed him they were visiting a friend who lived in the building, Crandall became increasingly hostile and brandished a firearm.
“Let me be clear: You ain’t getting in this f–king elevator,” Crandall said in the video. “You think I’m f–king kidding?”
https://twitter.com/Matsamon/status/1039663132690374656
Crandall was the General Manager at the Baymont by Wyndham of Tallahassee Central hotel. But after the Tallahassee Community Action Committee called for Crandall to be fired, the company terminated his employment.
The Pax Hotel Group issued a statement denouncing Crandall’s actions and reaffirming its commitment to the community.
“Pax Hotel Group believes in bringing up and adding to the communities we are a part of. Our team has gone ahead and took the actions that were necessary to uphold our beliefs,” the statement read. “Pax Hotel Group does not stand behind the actions of our former General Manager.
“One of Pax Hotel Group’s Core Values is to treat others the way you would like to be treated. While at work or out in our everyday lives we expect our employees to have this core value in mind, we would like to apologize to those affected by the actions of our former employee.”
Tallahassee Police Department have opened an investigation into the incident, but as of press time, no arrests have been made.