Appleton Police Department patch. (PHOTO: Courtesy of Fox 11 WLUK)
APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – An Appleton arson investigation now has larger implications on the surrounding community than a typical case.
“The overall investigation is kind of leading to it being investigated at this time as a hate crime,” said Officer Meghan Cash. “Because of some of the language and symbols and things that were discovered as part of an investigation.”
Somebody reportedly spray-painted the Appleton home, as well as a vehicle, with what are being called ‘racist and anti-Semitic’ language and symbols before causing a ‘significant fire and explosion’ at that home.
“The intimidation and the hatred that was seen in an incident like this is something that is not what Appleton is about…It’s not going to be a welcomed in our city, we’re not going to allow it in our city, and it’s something that we take very seriously,” Cash told WTAQ News. “This isn’t just a basic fire, by any means, that occurred in someone’s home. This is something that is a very serious issue and we want our community to feel safe being here and these these two victims did not feel safe…it’s our responsibility to keep them safe and to make them not have to be re-victimized or have to re-experience anything that that they’ve already had to endure.”
No injuries were reported, but that doesn’t mean the victims weren’t shaken. They are now speaking out about how the incident has affected them.
You can read that statement here:
“Normally, we would not put a victim in a place where we would ask them to do a statement by any means. But the victims in this case really felt it was a duty to be able to share with the community how this impacted them so we can prevent it from happening again,” Cash said. “They wanted a statement put out to the community about how this impacted them because it’s a very serious topic, and it’s something that we’re not going to allow in our city. ”
The hate crime enhancer includes federal charges on top of any local charges. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Appleton Police.
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