Waco police are investigating after a swastika and racist graffiti was found painted at a vacant house located at the 3800 block of Elliott Drive.
The swastika was painted on the back of the home, facing Interstate 35. On Tuesday, you could read the text “Bandidos Live Matter” on the side of the house. In addition, a threatening message toward African-Americans was visible on the garage door of the house.
Kaylee DeLeon who moved into the neighborhood a month ago was surprised to see the graffiti in a neighborhood she describes as safe and quiet.
“I thought it was very disturbing. It makes me very sad because we live in a diverse community and no one should have to see any racial slurs," DeLeon said.
Matthew Silva was also appalled by seeing the offensive message.
“Words can do a lot of damage nowadays. That right there is bringing ugliness to the area," Silva said.
The City of Waco said the owner is responsible for cleaning up the graffiti because the city can't make any changes on private property.
The owner of the property, Beau Earley, contacted Central Texas News Now, after someone sent him the Facebook live, the station did on the subject at 4:30 p.m.
He painted over the racial slur and the "Bandidos Live Matter" messages after it learned about it last week, but he said the paint did not cover it well. In addition, a swastika was spray painted after that.
“I don’t want this to reflect on the neighborhood. Something so easy by two or three kids can let the neighborhood look bad and that’s not what I want," Earley said.
On Tuesday night, he went to clean it up again.
“I’m just worried that we are going to spend this time doing it and tomorrow we are going to have another news story or another news story," Earley said.
If caught, those responsible will face criminal mischief charges that could range from a misdemeanor to a felony depending on the amount of money the homeowner must pay to clean up the property.
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