Medford, Ore. — Neighbors in West Medford are infuriated after waking up to find racist and hateful messages spray painted on their vehicles.
Derek Norpchen lives on 11th and Union Street. He said last night his neighbor knocked on his door around midnight to tell him someone had spray painted an offensive word in big letters on the side of his truck.
“It’ just totally random and totally malicious and kind of ruined my day,” Norpchen said.
He wasn’t the only one. Others on his block woke up to the same thing.
“We were getting ready to go to church to go to mass and we come out here and my daughter was the first one to saw it,” Juan Martinez said. “She said ‘oh they tagged our car’ and then my wife came out and she got all depressed and she didn’t even go to communion she was so upset.”
Some of the words and symbols tagged on the cars were racist and offensive. Neighbors said at least five vehicles were hit before a man on the block caught a teenage girl in the act and tried to chase her down.
“Late last night I was sitting here watching TV and I happen to hear a girl shaking a spray paint can,” neighbor Ken Steck said. “I noticed across the street that my neighbor’s truck was tagged with an inappropriate name and I thought no I can’t let this go.”
The girl got away.Medford Police said they searched the area last night, but were not able to find the suspect. She’s described as a slender teenager about 5 feet tall with blonde hair. They said she was with another girl who was on a skateboard. Now,Norpchen and others are left with a mess and a big bill.
“I have to actually go to an auto body specialist and insurance will cover it, but after $500. That’s what I have to pay first,” Norpchen said.
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