EUSTIS, Fla. – Melany Cruz moved to Eustis less than a month ago with her partner and small children, hoping it would offer them a peaceful environment, but Monday morning, their pride flag displayed on the front porch was vandalized.
“It’s a hateful thing. It’s somebody who just doesn’t like the culture I guess, I would say homophobia even,” Cruz told News 6. “We have kids in the house, so it’s kind of a safety concern, and then somebody stepping into our property, that’s another thing.”
Cruz said soon after noticing the word “NO” written on the flag with a black marker, they contacted Eustis police.
“That’s not a way we want to welcome new citizens to our city to have to deal with this type of hate,” Eustis police Chief Craig Capri said. “We have to send a strong message that hate will never be accepted in the city of Eustis and everybody has a constitutional right to express their beliefs.”
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Capri said these types of incidents are rare in Eustis and it’s the first hate crime reported this year.
“We don’t see this often at all. It’s a horrific crime and it’s unacceptable,” Capri said. “When you have a type of hate crime like this, you immediately get on top of it and send a message and try to eradicate it as quick as you can. So, we took it very seriously, as we should.”
Detectives are actively investigating and patrol units are keeping watch in the neighborhood where it happened near Lake Technical College.
“I’m hoping that this is an isolated incident, but it’s a very important incident to me because if you let hate fester or even let it go, it’s like a fire. If you let it go... it’s gonna spread quick so we need to get on top of it, nip it in the bud and hold those accountable,” the police chief said. “We will not tolerate this type of hate in our community.”
Cruz said if the person or persons who committed the crime come forward, she’s open to accepting an apology.
“You know it was hard on our family and stuff like that but in the end what I’ve been trying to tell everybody is our house is of love, you know. We’re not going to hate on this person,” Cruz said. “If they do come forward like I would say, ‘All is forgiven just for the act of coming forward and apologizing.’”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Eustis police.
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