Plano police are investigating a possible hate crime after racial slurs were spray-painted on multiple homes and vehicles.
Neighbors hope video captured from a camera outside one of the homes can lead detectives to an arrest.
Stephanie Cruz says she awoke in the predawn hours Thursday to find the door of the shed in the alley behind her home ajar. When she went outside for a closer look, she discovered a box of tools and some spray paint were missing.
Get DFW local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC DFW newsletters.
When Plano officers arrived, she realized it wasn’t just a simple case of theft.
"The sun was coming up, we noticed everything was tagged," Cruz said. "It was bad.”
Several garage doors and vehicles parked in the alley of her subdivision were spray painted with a variety of bible references and racial slurs.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Plano police say right now the case is considered criminal mischief but that could change if detectives determine if the vandalism was motivated by hate.
“The vandalism that did occur, unfortunately, there were racial slurs that was written on houses, cars and other property," detective Jerry Minton said. "It doesn’t seem to be targeting one particular individual.”
But there is one particular individual investigators want to speak with.
A neighbor shared the video with NBC 5 showing someone with a can of black spray paint covering up a Ring camera, but not before giving everyone a pretty good look at their own face.
Plano police believe they’re looking for one teenage male.
