Racist Graffiti on Church Van Shocks Pastor
Bedford police investigate hate crime involving church van
By SCOTT GORDON
Updated 10:20 PM CDT, Thu, May 7, 2009
Police in Bedford want to know who painted racist and threatening graffiti on a church van parked next to a pastor’s house Monday night.
"My first reaction was, ‘I don't believe this, you know?’" Pastor Cedric Malone said.
One part of the message, scrawled on a van window, included the word "die" and a racial slur. Another included the Nazi symbol.
Malone, who is black, is pastor of a small congregation in Grand Prairie called The Church.
Malone, who has lived in the same Bedford neighborhood for two years, said he has never had any trouble before.
"The biggest thing is, it was just a shock," he said.
Many of his neighbors saw the graffiti and offered their support, he said.
"It's such a hateful, painful thing," neighbor Amelia Hamilton said. "It makes me sad. And it makes me frustrated as an American, just as a human."
The pastor said he plans to press charges if police arrest the vandals. But, he added, he has already forgiven them.
"That's what God teaches us, is to forgive," he said. "If I don't forgive, then how can I teach forgiveness?"
First Published: May 7, 2009 9:30 PM CDT
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