The Michigan rapper who filmed his brother pummeling a white Macy’s store employee claims he clearly heard the man utter a racial slur and that the violent reaction ‘was spur of the moment.’
‘I just want people to know the real story of really what happened and what’s in the description of me and my brother just walking into Macy’s just minding our own business,’ FT Quay, the 22-year-old rapper, told the New York Post.
‘And, yes, we made a petty joke and asked the guy “Was the shirt too little?” when he could’ve asked me. He was just being funny,’ said Quay, who declined to identify his brother by name.
‘And just the fact of the remark that he said that we all heard.
FT Quay (left), a 22-year-old rapper from Michigan, filmed the viral video showing his brother (right) pummel a white Macy’s employee on Monday in Flint Township
Quay posted this photograph on his Facebook page on the same day that the incident took place. This picture was likely taken moments before the filmed attack
‘And just, what else were we supposed to do? In this age and time, he didn’t know what else to do.
‘That was just his instinct.’
The viral video which surfaced on Monday shows the white Macy’s employee being beaten down by a black man for allegedly calling him the n-word in the middle of the Macy’s location at Genesee Valley Center in Flint Township, Michigan.
Macy’s issued a statement Friday in which the company claimed the attack was ‘unprovoked’ as police hunt for the two other men involved who fled the scene.
Quay shared the video on Facebook and claimed that he and a ‘bro’ went to the mall and asked a man on the phone about a shirt size.
He said the employee answered them and returned to his phone call, where he allegedly told someone on the phone ‘no one just some n****r,’ which resulted in the black man pouncing on him.
The moment the employee allegedly used the racial slur is not shown in the short clip.
But Quay maintained that he heard the employee utter the racial slur.
He said the encounter started when his brother ‘got the shirt, just picked it up.
‘He didn’t have it on physically. He just put it over his body. He asked him, “Does this shirt look too little?”
‘And [the employee] politely said, “Yes,” and continued back on the phone with the remark, “No one, just some n—r”.’
‘At the moment, it was surprising,’ Quay said.
‘I was just like, whatever. Let me get this down (on video). Let me just let people see.’
The shocking video was filmed at the Macy’s store at the Genesee Valley Center in Flint Township and has circulated around social media. The man attacked was a store employee
‘I’m behind my brother fully, because with everything else going on, what else can we do at this point?’ Quay said.
‘All the hate and everything is not needed because nothing works.
‘It was spur of the moment. That was his instinct.’
Macy’s claimed that the attack was ‘unprovoked’ and said they are helping authorities in identifying the man shown punching the employee in the video and the man filming it.
FT Quay’s social media was taken offline as of Friday.
‘We are deeply saddened about the incident that took place on Monday (June 15) at Macy’s Genesee Valley as the safety of Macy’s customers and colleagues is our top priority,’ Andrea Schwartz, senior director of media relations for Macy’s, told MLive-The Flint Journal.
‘Violence in the workplace of any kind is unacceptable. All the materials from the evening have been reviewed and it is clear that the attack was unprovoked.
‘We are working closely with local authorities on this investigation, and will defer any further comments about the case to them per policy.’
The company did not mention that the man seen being punched in the video was an employee but this was later revealed by local law enforcement.
Police confirmed they were investigating the video on Friday after it was widely circulated on social media.
‘We are looking for them as we speak,’ township police Lt. Brad Wangler told MLive.
Quay shared the video on Facebook and claimed the attack began after the employee allegedly told someone on the phone ‘no one just some n****r’ when hey asked him a question. Macy’s claimed in a statement Friday, however, that the attack had been unprovoked
‘It’s not something that’s been put on the back burner. We want to find out what happened.’
Police said they were called to the scene at around 5.45pm on Monday.
‘Officers learned an employee of the store was assaulted by a young black male who fled the scene with a second individual after the assault,’ they said in a statement Friday.
‘Store surveillance video confirmed the assault against the employee. Investigators also learned the assault was recorded by the second individual and shared on social media.’
Local rapper FT Quay took to Facebook shared the video on Monday and claimed that the clip was not the entire video. The alleged racial slur used by the employee is not heard
Flint Township Lt. Brad Wangler said that they are investigating the incident but no one is currently in custody. The police responded to reports of an assault at 5.45 pm Monday
The brief video shared by FT Quay shows the man punching the other in the face, with the unsuspecting man immediately asking, ‘What are you doing that for?’
As the man on the ground extends his arm to keep the angered man away, the assailant punches him again and tells him not to touch him.
At this point, the employee tells the black man ‘I didn’t touch you… I’m sorry’ as the assailant punches him a few more times.
Flint Township Lt. Brad Wangler said that they are investigating the incident but no one is currently in custody.
A Macy’s spokesperson added that they have beefed up security at the store following the incident.
Police urge anyone with information to contact Detective Hart at 810-600-3250, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-422-JAIL (5245) or go to www.crimestoppersoffint.com.