CHARLEVOIX — On the evening of Aug. 8, husband and wife, Maurice and Nicki Williams, were awakened by a homemade “bomb” crashing through their bedroom window on May Street in the south side of Charlevoix.
Glass from the shattered window flew over the couple as they lay in bed. They quickly dropped to the ground and began to crawl on their hands and knees toward where their two daughters — ages 15 and 17 — lay sleeping in nearby rooms.
“There was gas everywhere. I could barely breathe,” said Nicki. “I got the girls and ran out of the house. My husband came out right behind us.”
According to local law enforcement, a “Molotov cocktail” had been thrown through the William’s first floor bedroom window. If the bomb had ignited as was intended the Williams could have been severely injured or even killed, said Charlevoix Chief of Police Gerard Doan.
“The plan was for it to set our bedroom on fire,” said Maurice.
Because of the fact that the Williams are a bi-racial couple — Maurice is Black and Nicki is white — Doan is considering the possibility that this attack was a racially motivated hate crime. Doan has enlisted assistance in the investigation from the Charlevoix County Sheriff’s department, the Michigan State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The perpetrators have yet to be identified or apprehended.
“We want answers,” said Nicki. “Whoever did this is still out there. Someone knows something. This was a vicious attack on our family while we were sleeping and that evil person is still out there. We need answers.”
More: Whitmer expected to criticize Trump's coronavirus response in convention speech
The family has not been contacted yet by the state or the FBI.
“I don’t know if I will ever feel as secure here as I did before this incident. That has been taken away from us,” said Maurice. “Whether this was done because we are black or for some other reason still left us feeling unsafe.”
The FBI defines a hate crime as a committed criminal offense which is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender’s bias(es) against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender or gender identity.
The top three hate crime related offenses most frequently reported to the FBI are destruction/damage/vandalism, intimidation and simple assault.
According to 2018 census data, Charlevoix has 2,499 people. The 5 largest ethnic groups in Charlevoix, are White (Non-Hispanic) (93.5%), White (Hispanic) (3.09%), American Indian and Alaska Native (Non-Hispanic) (1.14%), Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) (1.1%), and Asian (Non-Hispanic) (0.611%).
More: Nursing home workers delay Detroit-area strike after Whitmer calls for resolution
Nicki, 38, who is a graduate of Petoskey High School and store manager at Next Door Stores, and Maurice, 48, who is a manager at the local McDonald’s, have two older sons, 20 and 22 years of age and two younger daughters, still living at home, who attend the Charlevoix Middle/High School.
The couple met in Big Rapids, moved to Petoskey, and then ended up moving to Charlevoix over 15 years ago.
“For the most part, we have felt safe here,” said Nicki. “I don’t think that, up until last Saturday, we have felt unsafe.”
“But we know, as a family, that racism is out there,” said Nicki.
The family has installed motion sensor cameras in and around their home and are in the process of obtaining a gun so they can sleep better at night.
As a Black man, Maurice describes feeling more racial bias than his wife and daughters have felt.
“I am not as surprised by this as Nicki was. I have always been exposed to this. My wife hasn’t been exposed to this ... but she knows it exists from me and my relationship with life; with just the way certain people respond to me or how certain people in certain positions act toward me,” he said.
Maurice feels most likely the incident was racially motivated.
“What other reason could it be? The police reassured us that they were going to do everything in their power to find out who did this to us,” he said.
“I am not looking for people’s sympathy or special treatment. I have spent most of my life trying to rise above or hope that one day it won’t be about race,” said Maurice.
Maurice says his daughters are mad and afraid because they don’t know who did this.
“They don’t want to leave their dad alone right now,” said Nicki.
Maurice expressed his gratitude for the help and support the family has received from the community.
“Most people in this town don’t lock their doors and sleep with their windows open. We don’t have that freedom anymore,” said Maurice. “That has been taken from us.”
Local law enforcement officials currently have no evidence the crime was racially motivated.
Last week, Doan announced a reward of $2,000 for information leading to the arrest of the person or people involved in the incident.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the Charlevoix Police Department at (231) 547-3258.
"want" - Google News
August 18, 2020 at 06:50AM
https://ift.tt/2E0oNSw
Charlevoix 'bomb' victims want answers - Detroit Free Press
"want" - Google News
https://ift.tt/31yeVa2
https://ift.tt/2YsHiXz
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Charlevoix 'bomb' victims want answers - Detroit Free Press"
Post a Comment