JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In the middle of the night, Arthur Neziri was woken up by his wife yelling out in fear.
“It was scary last night,” said Neziri. “She told me it's fire fire.”
From his bathroom window, Neziri could see the flames shooting up from his neighbor’s townhome in the Ironwood community.
"It was a fire on the roof and I saw the truck knocking down that fire,” he said.
But it wasn’t just flames found at 4134 Crownwood Drive. Neighbors showed Action News that spray painted on the garage door was a graffiti message with a racial slur we can’t show. It reads, “The #$%^&* that lives here is a thief. He robbed me.”
JFRD and JSO both responded to the scene. According to firefighters, one person was inside at the time, but got out in time. There were no injuries.
It’s now under investigation whether or not the fire was intentionally set.
"We’re leaving everything on the table. I'm not going to try to classify it right now,” said JSO Officer Shannon Hartley.
But Action News has learned this wasn’t the first incident at that residence. Just three days ago, crews responded to a report of a rock being thrown through the townhome’s window with a note attached. Police would not reveal the note’s message, but neighbors showed us a photograph of it, and it too contained a racial slur.
Investigators at the time could not determine if Sunday’s fire was the result of an accident or arson.
Now, they’re back again with a similar question.
Neighbors, like Neziri, are just praying for their peaceful neighborhood to soon return.
"I hope they find the person,” said Neziri. “It's kind of scary."
This case remains under investigation.
