OAK HARBOR, Wash. — A local woman says her 10 special needs children are the target of racially motivated attacks after her home was repeatedly targeted.
Mary Geist says her Oak Harbor home has been repeatedly vandalized over the years.
Racial slurs have been scribbled on the sidewalk and someone set fire to two sheds behind her house earlier this month, she said.
“I just grabbed the hose and started aiming it,” said Geist.
Family heirlooms, yard equipment and clothes were lost in the fire. The burned and soggy mess was shoveled into Dumpsters by the children.
Geist said she fears for her children's safety.
“The issues are I have both black and white children and that's viewed as mixing the races,” said Geist.
Geist said her two girls have been followed, and she showed KIRO 7 Eyewitness News windows she said were broken by mud and paintballs.
“I don’t sleep at night. I’ve had Molotov cocktails thrown in my driveway,” said Geist.
Investigators said the fire is arson, but do not think it was racially motivated.
“I can’t even remember the last time we investigated a racially-motivated crime,” said Detective Sgt. Mary Gardner with The Oak Harbor Police Department.
Gardner said officers have followed up on at least two reports from Geist over the years.
Officers believe the fire was set by the same person who set several small fires for no apparent reason.
Police said they have no suspects in the case.
KIRO
