Makeshift noose found in Panera restroom in Michigan. ‘I was terrified,’ manager says

A noose made out of paper towels was found in a Panera Bread restroomn in Michigan, media reports say.

A worker at the Grosse Pointe restaurant made the discovery at 8:30 p.m. on Friday, June 30, according to the Detroit Free Press. Police were notified, and it’s believed that four teenage boys were in the bathroom before the worker found the noose, the Free Press reported.

Grosse Pointe is 90% white, Census data shows, but WJBK reported 99% of the Panera workers are Black.

“I had to be at work the very next day at 5 a.m. and I was terrified in the morning,” Kareema Regula, the restaurant’s assistant general manager, told WJBK. “Because I didn’t know what to expect.”

The four teenagers, who are white, are the suspects in the incident, but Grosse Pointe Chief of Police John Alcorn said officers are continuing to investigate because the restaurant was busy at the time, according to The Detroit News.

“The significance of a noose is, I don’t think you can characterize it as anything other than a threat,” Alcorn told WDIV. “It represents murder and violence and hate. There was no note with it, no graffiti with it. There was no name attached to it, so in my mind, is was a blanket threat, and that’s how we’re investigating it.”

Sheila Tomkowiak, Grosse Pointe’s mayor, referred to the noose in the bathroom as a “hate crime,” The Detroit News and WJBK reported.

A spokesperson for Panera Bread said in a statement to McClatchy News that the restaurant “is no place for hate.”

“We are actively working with local authorities, and to ensure our associates and guests are safe and supported,” the spokesperson said.

Grosse Pointe is a northeast suburb of Detroit.

This story was originally published January 3, 2023 at 4:14 PM with the headline "Makeshift noose found in Panera restroom in Michigan. ‘I was terrified,’ manager says."