Interracial Couple’s House Explodes, Swastika Found On Scene
Swastika
By Aiden Pink August 14, 2019
An Ohio family’s house exploded last week in what police are investigating as a possible hate crime after finding a swastika spray-painted on the garage, the Cleveland Jewish News reported.
The house of Brad and Angela Frase in Sterling, 50 miles south of Cleveland, exploded at around 12:50 a.m. on August 8, according to the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department. The Frases were not present, having moved to a hotel after an electrical fire in the house in early July.
On August 5, three days before the explosion, neighbors called the fire department to report the smell of natural gas at the abandoned house. “The Sterling Fire District was first called to the residence on Monday (Aug. 5) after an unknown suspect(s) unsuccessfully attempted to ignite the home by filling it with natural gas and turning the stove burner on,” Sterling Fire Chief Josh Glessner said in a statement. “However, the gas and electric utilities had previously been disconnected.”
After the explosion on the 8th, police discovered a swastika and a spray-painted racial slur on the detached garage.
Brad Frese is white and Angela Frese is black. It is not known if either of them are Jewish, the Cleveland Jewish News reported.
“Our goal is to get to the truth of the matter,” said Capt. Doug Hunter of the sheriff’s department. “It would be improper to place a timeline on those who are doing the investigation.”
Aiden Pink is the deputy news editor of the Forward. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @aidenpink
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
