An Australian shop owner is under fire after he put up a sign banning black teenagers and dogs from his shop.
“Statement. Because the 14-18 year old black [sic] always steal. Prohibit 14-18 year-old blacks and dogs into the shop,” the sign at the Melbourne milk bar read.
A Melbourne resident named Cam spotted the sign and snapped a picture, posting it and his disbelieving reaction to Twitter with the caption: “Local Melton Milk Bar is just asking for trouble with this sign!”
“I don’t think anyone in the Melton community would fancy this,” he said, speaking to 3AW radio.
After the outrage poured in, the unnamed store owner explained that he had acted on impulse and shared CCTV footage of eight black teenagers coming into his shop to intimidate him and to steal from his shop. He explained that he had been the victim of 20 crimes in the past two years and that the sign had been an impulse reaction when he got fed up with it.
The local police also condemned the sign, which has since been taken down.
“Victoria Police does not support the language of the poster and deems the message as inappropriate,” a spokesman told news.com.au.
— UN worker arrested for robbing banks during lunch break —
Local Melton Milk Bar is just asking for trouble with this sign! pic.twitter.com/iPvwPw1pzD
— Cam™ (@funkycarbon) April 14, 2017
