Hate crime investigation

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A teenage boy says he is trying to stay strong after his girlfriend’s house was broken into and the “N” word was spray painted in large black letters in front of the word “lover”. Police are still looking for the intruders and are treating it as a hate crime.

Tim Benner says he was shaken up after reading the words in his daughter’s bedroom. Benner’s daughter Ruby and her boyfriend Jayden have been dating for about 6 months.

The break in happened February 15th and Benner found his home trashed. It happened in the middle of the day and in less than an hour. The thieves stole electronics, jewellery and cash. Benner believes whoever wrote the message knows his family or his daughter.

Niagara police say over the last two years hate crimes have declined. In 2015 police investigated 13 hate crimes compared to just 10 last year. Charges and convictions for hate crimes are rare. Of the 23 hate crimes Niagara police have looked over the past two years no charges were ever laid

Jayden says the graffiti was shocking but has a message for the person who wrote it. “We’re strong enough and you can try to break us down but it won’t work.”