UNT experts available to discuss Charleston church shooting

Thursday, June 18, 2015 - 14:46

A gunman shot and killed nine people at one of the nation's oldest black churches on the evening of June 17 (Wednesday), according to media reports, and police are investigating the shooting as a possible hate crime. Experts at the University of North Texas are available to comment on the shooting from various angles. Check back for updates to this page with additional experts.

  • Meredith Clark, assistant professor in UNT's Frank W. and Sue Mayborn School of Journalism, will discuss social media response to the shooting, particularly on Black Twitter, a social media identity that focuses on issues related to the African-American community. She recently analyzed social media response to the shooting of Michael Brown by a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer last August, focusing on the hashtag #IfTheyGunnedMeDown.
    Clark may be reached only by phone after 2 p.m. CDT today (June 18) at 850-559-1839, and that same phone number tomorrow (June 19). She may be reached on Twitter at @meredithclark.
     
  • Eric Coleman, lecturer in the UNT Department of Criminal Justice, can discuss the police response to shootings.
    He is available by cell phone at 214-907-0575.
     
  • Neil Foote, principal lecturer in the Mayborn School of Journalism, will discuss race issues in the media.
    Foote is available by email at foote@unt.edu or by phone at 214-448-3765.
     
  • Sharon Jenkins, UNT professor of psychology, will discuss both the racial aspects of the shooting and the shooting's psychological impact on observers. She has investigated Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome in survivors of and first responders to mass shootings, including the 1991 shooting at a Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas, that left 24 people dead and is the third deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.
    Jenkins may be reached at Sharon.jenkins@unt.edu, her office phone number at 940-565-4107 and her home phone number at 940-565-1493.
     
  • Educational Psychologist Wendy Middlemiss can discuss how parents can talk to children about the shooting and the deaths, including how to address things seen on television and topics talked about during school. 
    Middlemiss is available via Skype and cell phone at 724-977-3067.

UNT News Service
News_Service@unt.edu
(940) 565-2108