A Prior Lake, Minnesota, father accused of making racist comments against another family's daughter after his own sons allegedly bullied her on Snapchat was fired from his job Wednesday, KMSP reported.
Deron Puro allegedly used the N-word and other offensive language in a voicemail he left for Brad Knudson, who initially reached out to Puro after his two sons allegedly sent Knudson's adopted black daughter a series of racist messages via the photo and video sharing app Snapchat.
"Yeah Brad, tides have turned, huh? I guess you're n----- lover. Call me back," Puro allegedly said in the voicemail, which Knudson played during a YouTube video confronting his eight-grade daughter's accused bullies.
The financial company Puro worked for confirmed to KMSP he was no longer employed as an independent contractor. Attempts to reach the father were unsuccessful, the station reported.
The entire episode began Dec. 31 when two Prior Lake High School students sent Knudson's daughter Dierdra Snapchat videos saying she was "such as slut," "a n-----," and a "fat a-- b----," according to a recording of the messages played in the video.
Knudson said he tried reaching out to the boys' parents but went to Prior Lake police when his attempts were unsuccessful, KMSP reported. Police reportedly spoke to the kids at school.
When Knudson reached out to the parents a second time, Puro allegedly told the father his family uses that kind of language at home all the time. Following the exchange Knudson received the voicemail.
Knudson called the father back and said he was making a video exposing the alleged incident, to which Puro apparently replied that was okay.
Officials from Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools said they are aware of the Snapchats and are investigating to see if they were a one-time occurrence or were ongoing.
"First and foremost, we do not tolerate racism, harassment or bullying of any kind. We are conducting our own investigation to get a better understanding of the events that led up to the video."
Over 300,000 people have watched Knudson's video defending his daughter.
"I just hope people understand how much racism affects people," Diedra told ABC6.
