Racial slur, swastika painted on Apple Valley home being investigated as vandalism

APPLE VALLEY, Calif. (KABC) -- Racist graffiti painted on an Apple Valley home is being investigated as vandalism. But one family is wondering if it should instead be probed as a hate crime.

"I mean we've seen little tag marks, people doing things on walls, but never anything as blatant as that," said Kisha McDonald, whose home sits directly above the property where the racist words were painted.

McDonald said her son noticed the graffiti over the weekend. It included the N-word, a Nazi swastika and other symbols.

"He came back inside and told my husband that we had some taggers. I wasn't expecting that to be what I saw," McDonald said. "I was thinking gang graffiti or something. But it was pretty shocking to see that."

McDonald said the home that was vandalized is currently under construction. But because the graffiti was painted on the back of the home, which faces her property, her family can only wonder if it was meant for them.

"We thought it was a hate crime, because of the words that were on there, and that it's directly adjacent to our house," McDonald said.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said there are no suspects at this time. A spokesperson said because the graffiti was not on the McDonald property, and they did not report any recent threats or harassment, it's not being investigated as a hate crime but instead as an incident of vandalism.

McDonald said she had no idea who is responsible for the graffiti.

"I'm thinking it could have been some teenagers," she said. "I'm hoping it's not an adult, in this day and time that would actually display something so blatantly racist. But I don't know."