Police Investigate Alleged Hate Crime in Cheltenham

Cheltenham, Pa. (WTXF) Police are investigating an alleged hate crime after a woman found graffiti on the front door of her apartment in Cheltenham.

"I can't believe it. Who puts KKK on somebody's apartment door in 2015. Who does that?" Tracy Harrell told FOX 29.

Harrell is fired up. Twice in the past month she got up to go to work and found the letters KKK on the front door at her apartment in Cheltenham.

FOX 29 is not showing the hate symbols, but Harrell took pictures of them and called police.

"The detectives came out. They looked around; there were no cameras in the hallway. There was nothing they could do," Harrell explained.

The 52-year-old Harrell has been living at the 1600 Church Road condos for over a year. She says after she reported the first incident of the letters KKK scratched into her door, things were quiet for several weeks. On Monday, maintenance crew repainted the door, a day later she found a piece of paper with the KKK letters duct taped to the door.

"I can live anywhere. I want to live. This is America. Are you kidding me," she said.

Harrell says the Cheltenham police responded quickly and even fingerprinted her front door. Chief John Norris tells FOX 29 police are investigating this as a possible hate crime. There were no witnesses and there's no surveillance camera video of either incident.

FOX 29 went to the management office at the condo complex. The door was locked. We called the office and were told there would be no comment. Harrell, meanwhile, is anxious to see the person who's doing this caught, because she works long hours, and is now having trouble sleeping at night. She has a message for the person responsible: "How dare you. Who do you think you are? Who thinks they can get away with something like that?"