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Woman fired after video of her blocking man from entering his downtown loft goes viral

Posted at 8:49 AM, Oct 15, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-15 10:49:02-04

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    ST. LOUIS (KMOV) — The woman seen in a viral video confronting and blocking a St. Louis man from entering his downtown loft was fired from her job Sunday.

Tribeca-STL, which says it is a minority-owned business, released a statement Sunday afternoon saying its owners were “disturbed” by the interaction in the video.

The company confirmed the woman in the video was an Tribeca-STL employee but the incident took place at her personal residence.

Cellphone footage captured the confrontation between the two tenants showing the woman stopping a man from entering his downtown loft and demanding proof he lived there.

D’Arreion Toles was returning home from a late night at the office when a tenant who lived on the third floor of Elder Shirt Lofts created a roadblock.

In the viral video, Toles can be heard telling the woman, “You are blocking me into my building. This is my building as well. So, I need you to get out of my way.”

The woman then begins to questions Toles by asking what unit he lives in.

Toles showed a key fob in the video and moved past the woman, who News 4 will not name, before taking an elevator to the fourth floor.

In the video, the woman is seen following Toles to the front door of his loft.

“Did this really just happen to me. It happened to me. I am really taken away by the moment,” said Toles reflecting on the incident.

His cellphone video shows the woman standing outside his door after he uses his key to enter his loft.

“I was kind of blown away, shocked and like wow,” said Toles. “I am just glad I had my camera out. If I did not have my camera out, I feel it could have gone a totally different way.”

The video has over 2 million views and has been shared over 70,000 times.

“I appreciate all of the love and support. Like I said, don’t respond negatively. Don’t go after the lady. Let her be at peace. Let her live her life,” added Toles.

News 4 buzzed the woman’s unit and also called numbers listed for her to get her side of the story, but she never answered.

“I am not mad at her. I am not upset with her. I am not going to go after her legally or anything like that. I wish her the best. I would still have a conversation with her,” said Toles.

Toles told News 4 that police showed up at his loft but left without giving anyone a citation.

The full statement released by Tribeca-STL can be read here:

“Tribeca-STL was recently shared a video containing a disturbing interaction that we believe is important to clarify.

The video did involve one of our employees, but the event did NOT take place at Tribeca-STL and did NOT involve one of our tenants. The video is showing the employee in her private life at her own residence interacting with another person.

The Tribeca-STL family is a minority-owned company that consists of employees and residents from many racial backgrounds. We are proud of this fact and do not and never will stand for racism or racial profiling at our company.

After a review of the matter the employee has been terminated and is no longer with our Company. At Tribeca-STL we want all residents, guests and visitors to feel welcome, safe and respected.”

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