At a Glance
- Daycare in Minneapolis vandalized after Nick Shirley’s viral video alleged fraud.
- Employees reported loss of documents, checkbooks, and hateful messages.
- Somali community faces targeted intimidation.
- Why it matters: The incident highlights how false claims can trigger violence against minority businesses.
Nokomis Daycare Center in Minneapolis was broken into on Tuesday morning after a YouTube video by Nick Shirley accused the center of fraud. Employees say they lost important records and checkbooks, and the Somali community has received hateful threats.
Vandalism Incident
The break-in left the center’s enrollment and employee records missing, and checkbooks ripped from the office, according to Manager Nasrulah Mohamed. He said the damage was devastating and unclear why the Somali community was targeted.
Manager Nasrulah Mohamed stated:
> “We saw that, unfortunately we saw that there was important documentation, enrollment of the children and also employee documentation that was gone. There were also checkbooks that were ripped from our, check papers that were from our book,”
Community Impact
Mohamed said the community has received hateful voice-note messages threatening them for days, including one after the break-in. He emphasized that Somali-owned daycares are reputable and that the false allegations have caused widespread harm.
Manager Nasrulah Mohamed added:
> “This is devastating news and we don’t know why this is targeting our Somali community as one video made by a specific individual made this all happen. We’ve been receiving hateful messages through our voice notes threatening us since the past couple of days including one that happened yesterday morning when the break-in, after the break-in,”
Manager Nasrulah Mohamed continued:
> “I want to say that there are hundreds of daycares out there, Somali daycares that are out there and we all help each our children and everyone in our community. We have high quality daycares and this is very sad news that one individual who made a false claim about fraud that is happening in the daycares helped engage everyone else to come and do this to us,”
Manager Nasrulah Mohamed concluded:
> “We are not a part of any harmful things that are being said. We have no problem with CCAP [Child Care Assistance Program] and our licensing has been good, even the inspections. I want to say no intimidation is going to stop us from what is happening and upgrading our community,”
Background of Allegations
Shirley’s video targeted Somali-American owned daycares after state immigrants were charged in a scheme involving a local non-profit misappropriating public funds. The non-profit, “Feeding Our Future”, had several Somali-American links, but the ring leader was a white woman.
Key Takeaways
- Vandalism occurred after a viral video alleging daycare fraud.
- Employees lost records and checkbooks; the Somali community faces threats.
- The allegations stem from a scheme involving a non-profit, but the daycare itself is not implicated.
The vandalism underscores the danger of unfounded claims and the need for protection of minority businesses.
