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Feb 8, 2008 8:24 am US/Eastern
Shocking Hate Crime Under Investigation
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
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The victim spent thousands of dollars to renovate and sell his old apartment only to find paint splattered over brand new hardwood floors and racial epithets carved into the walls.
CBS
Police
are searching for suspects who vandalized a South
Philadelphia row home, covering the inside of the residence with
racial slurs.
The
shocking discovery was made inside an apartment being remodeled near 11th
and Bainbridge Streets.
Vandals
reportedly poured paint over newly installed hardwood floors and carved racial
epithets on walls throughout the apartment.
The
victim, an African-American male who asked not to be identified, said he has
not had any problems in the past.
"The
racial thing is not something that is part of this neighborhood, I have been in
this neighborhood 11 years and never had an incident," the victim said.
Aside
from various colors of paint splattered throughout the apartment, a swastika
was found carved into downstairs walls as an upstairs bedroom. Another wall
carving spelt out the "F" and "N" words as well as a
statement saying, "F Obama."
"I
am actually not a Barack Obama supporter," the victim explained.
The
suspects also destroyed a brand new dishwasher and placed a security alarm box
placed in an oven according to the victim. He said the incident left him with thousands
of dollars worth of damage.
Philadelphia
Police launched a hate crimes investigation in the wake of the disturbing discovery.
The property owner told CBS 3 that he was not offended, but said his friends in
the neighborhood were disgusted by the crime.
"There's a lot of families, good people living around here, so I am kind
of surprised about that," neighbor Andrew Riley said.
No arrests have been made. The incident remains under investigation.
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