WARREN Police probe cross burning
The cross in front of the apartment building was quickly extinguished.
By STEPHEN SIFF and PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Residents in the racially mixed neighborhood near Austin Village say they have no idea why they were targeted in an apparent act of ethnic intimidation.
"There have been no problems at all," said Therese Noe, 59, who has lived in Avon Oaks apartments, 400 Southern Blvd., for a year. "I have no idea why anyone would want to do this."
Police are investigating the burning of a 5-foot-high cross in front of the apartment building early Monday morning.
A passer-by on the busy street called the fire department around 12:34 a.m. The cross was quickly extinguished, and today all that remains is a patch without grass and a black smudge on a landscaping stone.
The 5-foot-by-3-foot cross was wrapped in burlap, Fire Chief Ken Nussell said. The charred cross was taken by the fire department, and tests will be performed to see if an accelerant such as gasoline was used, he said.
He estimated that Avon Oaks residents are 80 percent minority.
No arrests had been made by Monday afternoon.
"We really don't have a lot to go on," Detective Gary Vingle said.
Variety of charges
Vingle said the culprits could face a variety of charges, depending on their intent. A burning cross is a symbol associated with the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist group.
One woman in the neighborhood said she saw a group of teens in front of the brick apartments shortly before the fire was reported.
"I think it was kids," said Korey Raimey, 16, who lives in the building with his family. "They must have been real bored. It ain't right."
His father, Tom Raimey, said he thought the cross burning was the work of teenagers.
"I'm shocked. I'm really, really shocked," Tom Raimey said. He added that he wasn't scared.
But Noe, the older neighbor, was terrified.
"This is scary," she said. "It is really scary."
siff@vindy.comsinkovich@vindy.com