Woman accused of calling child a racial slur at Rochester playground is now charged

ROCHESTER, Minn. (FOX 9) - A woman accused of using a racial slur against a child at a Rochester, Minnesota, park after he took an applesauce pouch from her bag earlier this year is now facing charges in Olmsted County Court. The woman's outburst went viral on TikTok.

Shiloh Marie Hendrix, 36, of Rochester, is facing three misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct in connection with the case.

Rochester racial slur incident

The backstory:

According to the criminal complaint, Rochester police responded to the incident on April 28 at Roy Sutherland Playground in the vicinity of Soldier’s Field Park. Responding officers learned that a man had taken a cell phone video of an encounter with a woman, later identified as Hendrix, shortly after she allegedly engaged in a hostile and racist manner with a child at the park.

The video was uploaded to social media and got significant attention.

The complaint states a man told authorities he was at the park with his three children shortly after 6 p.m., and one of them was 8 years old and autistic. At some point while they were at the park, the child approached a diaper bag that belonged to somebody else, and took an applesauce pouch from it. The man saw it, and tried to get it from him.

The complaint states Hendrix also saw the boy take the pouch, and started chasing the boy, who went to the playground to get away from his dad and Hendrix. Hendrix allegedly got angry with the boy, calling him a racial slur and causing the boy to freeze. The boy’s dad was afraid Hendrix would try to hit the boy, and she angrily grabbed the food from him.

Video goes viral

Why you should care:

The complaint states a witness to the incident approached Hendrix with his phone recording, asked why she called the boy a racial slur, and pointed out to her that the child is autistic. Hendrix admitted to using the racial slur, saying she could call him that "if he acts like one." Hendrix then got angry with the man filming, gave him the middle finger and cursed at him with a racial slur.

The complaint states the man asked if Hendrix was about to hit the boy. She responded, "Yeah! He took my son’s stuff! That little f***ing kid did. I don’t give a s***. F*** off!"

The complaint states there were several other children at the park at the time who became scared and troubled by Hendrix’s alleged outburst.

Rochester community denounces incident

Dig deeper:

About a week after the incident, Rochester community members gathered to denounce Hendrix’s actions. They called what she did a hate crime.

The Rochester NAACP also held a town hall shortly after the incident, where residents could voice their concerns. Community members demanded the woman be held accountable and brought to justice.

What they're saying:

"It’s important that we follow the law as it is written and not have our own wishes or desired interpretations taken into account," Rochester Mayor Kim Norton said on Tuesday. "While it is frustrating, there are different opinions."

Mayor Norton added that the decision was made with input from the victim’s family. However, that process was complicated by the fact that three families initially claimed to be involved. 

Woman raises $300,000+ crowdfunding

The other side:

In the days after the incident, Hendrix posted a crowdfunding campaign, saying her family was in great turmoil after her personal information was leaked online. She said at the time she feared having to move her family for safety, and asked for donations to protect herself and family.

The crowdfunding campaign raised hundreds of thousands of dollars.