MILLINGTON, Tenn. — Several families were called the N-word after vandals flattened their tires and damaged their vehicles.
Millington Police said race could be a motive.
Scott Dean is a tough guy — an Army veteran — but what happened over the weekend was enough to break him down.
“I wanted to cry,” Dean told WREG.
His family’s three cars were vandalized on Sunday.
“Trucks scratched up,” Dean described. “Flat tires.”
“It’s scratches all right through here and over here,” Kylisha Dean said.
The couple did not know why the crime happened until their neighbor discovered he was targeted Monday morning.
“I noticed that someone had left me a note,” Kenny Brown said.
The letter seemed to let black families in the neighborhood know they were not welcomed and that there would be more victims every night.
“They definitely on the note left the N-word on the note, so that definitely sends a signal to me,” Brown said.
“2 down 4 to go. We will not be stopped,” the letter read.
The words left some mothers worried about their children’s safety.
“I shouldn’t have to worry about my babies going to school because of the color of their skin,” Kylisha Dean said.
The explicit note is signed “President Trump” at the bottom.
“I’m going to guarantee who ever did this is a complete idiot,” Shelby County Commissioner Terry Roland said.
Roland is the head of the West Tennessee Donald Trump for President campaign. He does not know where the letter came from but wants whoever wrote it caught.
“I denounce it. The Trump campaign denounces it,” Roland told WREG.
Still, families were worried the crimes will continue and escalate to violence.
“I’m going to protect my family by any means necessary,” Scott Dean said.
Police said the vandalism has caused thousands of dollars in damages.
No one has been arrested, and no charges have been filed.
If you know anything, call the Millington Police Department at (901) 873-5600.