Angela Frase is expressing her “total disbelief” after her home was destroyed in an overnight explosion, in what authorities in Sterling, Ohio, are currently investigating as a hate crime.
According to Fox8, the explosion occurred at around 1 a.m on Wednesday morning. Swastikas and racial slurs were also painted on their garage and other vehicles around the area.
“We’ve been here 23 years and never had a problem. I don’t know where this is coming from. Why. Why someone would target us,” Frase told the news station.
Thankfully, Frase, who is Black, and her husband, who is white, were not at home at the time of the explosion. There had been an unrelated electrical fire at the home about a month ago, and so they were staying elsewhere.
“It’s a blessing me and my husband…were not here,” she said. “Last night I got up here, I threw up twice. I woke up this morning thinking maybe this is a dream.”
“It’s gone. Everything we own is gone. I know it can be replaced, but sentimental things, personal things you can’t get back. It’s gone,” she added.
Frase said that a crew working on the home on Tuesday thought they smelled gas, and so the gas line was disconnected. The electricity was also disconnected.
According to the report, the State Fire Marshal’s Office will investigate to figure out the cause of the explosion, which is still unknown.
But for the Ohio couple, home isn’t safe anymore and the explosion is enough.
“We decided that whatever happens, we’re not rebuilding here, we’re not coming back. We’re done,” Frase said.