White School Employee Goes On Shocking Racist Rant, Spits On Man In Front Of Her Daughters

A woman's disturbing racist tirade in a Connecticut supermarket went viral on social media as shocked netizens slammed her use of racist epithets against an African American man in the store. In the video, the woman—who was later identified as a Hamden Public Schools employee named Corinne Terrone—is seen screaming at her fellow shopper, repeatedly using the N-word, and even spitting at him while two children stood by her side, visibly shaken by the encounter. As the incident gained widespread attention, further investigation revealed that Terrone called 911 to complain about the incident, urging them to take action against the other customer.

According to the New Haven Register, in a nearly seven-minute 911 call to East Haven police, Terrone claimed her tirade was set off by the other customer calling her a b***h. "I was walking down the center aisle in front of the cash register and I turned around to my daughters and I said "oh, Jesus Christ.' The man, in his little scooter, said 'are you talking to me, (expletive)?' And I said 'no (n-word), I'm not'," she told the officer. The viral video of Terrone's outbreak, however, does not show any evidence supporting her allegations against the other individual involved.

News of the incident eventually reached Hamden Public Schools, prompting an investigation into the encounter and Terrone—who according to the district’s website—was a clerk in the Central Office. A statement from the school district said Terrone has resigned from her position shortly after. "We have become aware of video footage that appears to show an employee in our district engaged in abhorrent conduct. Specifically, the video appears to show the employee repeatedly calling an African-American man the N-word in a supermarket in East Haven," said the statement.

"The video also appears to show the Hamden employee spitting at the aforementioned African-American male as he was walking away from the employee. It also appears that the employee’s children witnessed her conduct. Because her children were present, school administrators filed a DCF report," it added. Karen Kaplan, Hamden Public Schools director of Program Innovation, Technology & Communications, said in an email that Terrone "has been separated from employment effective immediately." The school district's statement also described the consequences of Terrone’s actions, stating: "While it appears as though this happened after work hours on Friday evening, the Human Resource Director contacted the employee and arranged an investigatory meeting with her. Shortly after final arrangements were made for the investigatory meeting, the employee rendered her resignation effective immediately."

"The language the employee used in the video is in conflict with the values of the Hamden Public School System,” the statement continued. “Someone who will use that sort of language in any setting, whether public or private, is not someone we want anywhere near our children. The employee is separated from service, and we hope that her children will receive the support they need after witnessing such a traumatic event." Mayor Curt B. Leng and Council President Michael McGarry condemned Terrone's conduct seen in the video, calling it "vile" and "disgusting."

"What I saw was vile and shocking. While I am disgusted and disheartened seeing such hateful behavior, wildly unacceptable anywhere, I am thankful for the swift and effective actions taken by our school system to address this head-on and make clear that hate and violence will not be tolerated," Leng said in a statement. "The Legislative Council has been made aware of a video that appears to show an employee of the Hamden Public Schools acting and speaking in a manner that is unacceptable for an employee of the Town of Hamden. The actions and statement of the women in the video are disgusting and horrifying. It is additionally disturbing that the incident takes place in the presence of children," stated McGarry.

According to WVIT, although the East Haven police launched an investigation into the incident, they later revealed that no arrests had been made. Officials said the office of the State’s Attorney had declined to move forward with charges with anything other than a dual breach of peace arrest. However, the police decided not to make dual breach of peace arrests because they don't believe the male victim in the video deserves to be arrested.