EMERYVILLE, CA (KGO/CNN) - A California business owner admits to using a racial slur directed at a group of teens but people in the Emeryville community are questioning the man's story about what led up to the incident.
When a group of African American teenagers entered the Cornology Popcorn Shop in Sunday, what Fay Eastman-Adams saw happen shocked her.
"I saw the group of kids walking by and it was a group of about 10 and so," Eastman-Adams said. "Next thing I know, he's chasing them out the store saying, 'get out of here don't come out here "n’s." ' He said the full word."
When Eastman-Adams shared her outrage on Facebook over what store owner Mark Stone said to the children, the post went viral with almost 3,000 reactions and more than 6,500 shares.
Stone is white.
"I stood there and tried to rationalize what that man," she said. "He didn't even care."
Stone said gave his side of the story.
"I'm guessing, 15 young African Americans just ran into the store, one took a soda and threw it up against the wall," Stone said.
But Eastman-Adams disagrees.
"Why is he making up these stories?" she asked. "He's got people outraged saying he was robbed? I was there. I didn't see those kids run out with bags of popcorn."
There is no surveillance video from that day but Emeryville police said there have been a "couple" petty thefts at the store since last fall.
Whatever did happen inside that store, Adams admits, there is no excuse for using the racial slur.
"I said something in the heat of the very stressful situation and I regret it,” he said. “I am sincerely sorry to the black community for doing that.”
The story is a case of he said versus she said. The mayor of Emeryville said this is a conversation that needs to happen face to face.
"I will facilitate an opportunity for him to sit down with the women who were witness to what he did for an opportunity for them to listen and understand what those words mean to them,” said Mayor John Bauters.
As for Eastman-Adams, her message to the Bay Area? Change only happens, when someone decides to speak up."
"My family has been fighting that for generations and I'm not going to still fight that in 2018," she said. "It's not my responsibility to keep fighting."
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