Sarika Patel-Gregory has a 2-month old baby, grandmother living at home.
AB Wire
Police are now investigating a crime that occurred last Wednesday in El Cerrito, Bay Area, California, as a racist attack targeting an Indian American family’s home.
Greg Gregory and his wife Sarika Patel-Gregory live in a home with a two-month-old son, and an 89-year-old grandmother, reported KTVU, A Fox News affiliate.
Last Wednesday, Sarika Patel-Gregory got up to feed her son Kai at 3 a.m. when she noticed that there was a fire near the rear tire of her Acura SUV, parked in the driveway. Her husband found Duraflame logs burning behind two of the tires. Police recovered a piece of cardboard left nearby on the front lawn with a racially derogatory message.
“A huge fire behind this wheel, like flaming and you could see smoke coming from underneath there and it was really scary because it’s right by the gas tank,” Sarika Patel-Gregory said, reported ABC 7 News.
“Go away…the ‘n’ word. It was pretty offensive,” said Sarika, according to KTVU. “As diverse as the Bay Area is, El Cerrito is, even our neighborhood are, you still have that potential of having a hate crime…a lot of mixed emotions, but definitely angry. Yeah…just wondering why,” she added.
“Is it one person or is there a group of persons that feel this way,” said Greg Gregory.
The couple said they have no disputes with anyone. Gregory says he grew up in this home and his family has owned it for 50 years with no problems prior to this, reported KTVU.
The Gregorys have now installed a surveillance camera. They have a message for whoever’s responsible.
“Don’t be a coward. If you honestly feel this way, come forward,” said Gregory.
Gregory said he has no intention of leaving. He wants to raise his son in his childhood home.
“I do find myself looking over my shoulders a lot. Looking out the windows before I go to bed. I’m checking all the doors,” said Gregory.
Some residents of El Cerrito attended El Cerritos’s Human Relations Commission meeting held yesterday, Wednesday night, to talk about the dastardly attack and support the Gregory family, reported ABC.
“Whoever perpetrated this crime is outnumbered by the rest of us by thousands to one,” said one man at the meeting.
Police are analyzing surveillance video offered up by neighbors and asking for more.
“One of the things we’re looking for is to track how the suspect got to the scene of the crime, so the more people who have footage, even if it doesn’t show anything, it’s still good for us to know maybe that maybe a vehicle, or bicyclist, or pedestrian didn’t pass by their house,” said El Cerrito Capt. Paul Keith. “This is a crime that affects the whole community,”
The Gregory family is grateful for the support as they struggle to feel safe in their home.
“To know that I have a two-month-old and this early in his life I’m feeling as though he’s not safe, doesn’t make me feel very good as a father,” said Greg Gregory.