PORTAGE, MI -- A Portage high school student is suspended after a “racist and threatening” video was shared online of the student pointing a gun at the camera and repeatedly using a racial slur.

A male student from Portage Central High School was not in school Monday, Dec. 16, after school officials were notified of a racist video shared on Snapchat over the weekend, school spokesperson Michelle Karpinski said.

In the video, the white student, who Karpinski said was a junior at Portage Central, asks the camera multiple times if the viewer is a racial slur before pulling a gun from his waistband and pointing it into the camera. The student pulls the trigger of the weapon and it clicks.

“It has been a difficult morning for our community,” Central Principal Eric Alburtus wrote in a statement shared with MLive. "Recently, a Portage Central student created a racist and threatening video that was then shared with many students here and throughout southwest Michigan. We strongly condemn this behavior and the use of these words in all situations. And we are deeply sorry for the hurt that they have caused in our community.”

The incident has been referred to Portage Police Department, Karpinski said.

“When ugly statements like the one shared this weekend are associated with Portage Central, it hurts all of us -- and reminds us that we must do better,” Alburtus said. “We must acknowledge our struggles, we must continue to commit to working harder and more intentionally to combat racism, and we must do all that we can to protect and to respect our students of color.”