Calif. Police Investigating Possible Hate Crime After Man Yells Racial Slur, Throws Rock Into Home of Black Family

Huntington Beach, Calif., police are investigating a possible hate crime after a black family was allegedly targeted by a man who yelled racial slurs and threw a rock into their apartment's sliding-glass door, the Los Angeles Times reports.

According to the report, the attack occurred around 12:40 a.m. Tuesday at an apartment complex. The resident of the apartment said that he was on his balcony resting when he saw a white man riding a bicycle with flashing lights. The resident went inside the apartment but then noticed that the lights were flashing outside the apartment. As he looked outside, he saw the bicycle on the sidewalk.

The resident and his mother then heard a racial slur being yelled, before a rock came crashing through the sliding-glass door of the apartment. When they looked outside, the alleged attacker was seen riding away on a bicycle with a flashing light.

Police still have not found the suspect.

“The residents recently moved into the location and said they had not had any issues with anyone,” Officer Jennifer Marlatt told the Times.

Elisha Caballero, one of the residents of the apartment, told CBS Los Angeles that she heard the man say, "I am going to kill you, [n—ger]."

Caballero says the family now lives in fear.

“We were just scared. We were really scared, because it could have been a bomb,” she said.

“We know it was done out of a hate,” she told the news station. “I just want him to know we forgive him. Even though we don’t agree. Even though we don’t feel the same way towards each other, we need to respect one another.”

Read more at the Los Angeles Times and CBS Los Angeles.