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Warren police investigating after Black family racially targeted

Posted at 9:23 PM, Apr 01, 2021
and last updated 2021-04-01 23:20:52-04

WARREN, Mich. (WXYZ) — "I was shocked, I was devastated and I was hurt," said Candis Howard. "I feel blind because I was caught off guard.”

Howard was caught off guard after a handful of razors wrapped in paper were left on her front yard. One of the razors, reads “U don’t know who u dealing with.” The other had a horrible racist slur.

“I never thought it would happen to me," Howard said. "I never thought that I would experience it. I heard about it, I heard about the stories growing up as a child but I never thought it would happen to me.”

Howard says she has no idea who would do this and said her Warren neighborhood is pretty quiet and peaceful.

The razors ended up on her front porch after her 9-year-old daughter found them in the front yard and picked them up. Howard says her daughter and 13-year-old son knew exactly what the word meant.

“They’re hurt and they’re scared," Howard said of her kids. "They’re scared.”

Howard says the razors are now in the hands of Warren Police who visited her home, canvassed the area, and are now investigating.

"Obviously it’s something that we’re not going to allow in Warren and we’ll use any resources necessary,” said Warren Police Commissioner William Dwyer.

In September another Black family in Warren was racially targeted multiple times. Their tires were slashed, their truck vandalized and shots were fired at their home. After an investigation that spanned weeks, Warren Police arrested 24-year-old Michael Frederick Jr. who is now facing 8 felony charges including ethnic intimidation.

“That incident, I’m proud to say we worked with the homeowners, used all resources necessary and in this particular case we’re going to do the same," Dwyer said. "We’re not going to tolerate it in Warren. We’ve got detectives working on it, we’re hoping someone comes forward with information leading to an arrest.”

"We need to stop this and come and be together as one," said Howard's uncle, Ben Bowers. "It don't matter if you’re black, white, blue, purple, whatever color. We all bleed the same blood.”

As Howard's family rallies for support, she worries for her safety and for the safety of her kids. She's hoping this intimidation comes to a stop.

“I think I'm going to seek counseling for my kids because they young and this is something really horrific to experience,” Howard said. "I just want whoever do this to stop. I haven’t done nothing to nobody over here, I just want a fair chance for my kids to get a fair education like everybody else do.”

Howard has since bought surveillance cameras for her home.

Police say any information that could lead to an arrest could potentially lead to a reward. They believe it was likely someone in the neighborhood and they hope to make an arrest very soon.