Center Line woman feels unsafe after racist slur, genitalia painted on fence

CENTER LINE, Mich. (FOX 2) - A woman in Center Line found out about graffiti scrawled on her fence Sunday when neighbors told her about it.

"The neighbors across the street and next door came and let us know. We didn’t even know it was here," Karen said. "I feel unsafe. As you can see, the back part of our fence is missing, so now I’m looking, trying to figure out, is somebody trying to come in my backyard? Trying to come in my house?"

Someone painted male genitalia, the N-word, and a homophobic slur along her fence on Evelyn where the road meets 11 Mile.

"To me, it’s a hate crime. It’s racist," she said. "You know if these are kids where are parents? And if this is a grown-up, what is wrong with you? Like, it’s 2022."

Karen said she has suffered three heart attacks, and she doesn't need more stress in her life.

"Thirteen years, never seen nothing like that. Everybody gets along, even in the stores, people driving by. We’ve never had any racist encounters out here, except this," she said.

The vandalism continued across the street on her neighbor's fence.

Center Line police say they are investigating.

"They need to go to jail. But I’m going to pray for one. I’m going to pray," Karen said.

The Center Line city manager is aware of the graffiti and will address the matter as well.