Killeen, Texas, neighbors angry after racial slur spray painted on home across from school

KILLEEN, Texas (KWTX) - A man in Killeen has reported a hate crime after vulgar words were spray painted on his garage door over the weekend.

It was on Saturday when anyone driving down Richard Drive in Killeen would see the racial slur on a neighbor’s garage.

“It’s unreal that it is 2025 and we still have that kind of hate in the neighborhood,” says Scott Hilder, one of the neighbors.

Hilder is one of many who are disturbed by the discovery, noting that the Middle Eastern man who lives there is so kind and often greeting community members at his job at the mall.

What’s worse is the paint job was done right across the street from a local middle school.

“If it would have stayed up, the number of parents who would have to explain to their children what that says and what that means,” Hilder says.

He got wind of it on Reddit when the person who took the video driving down the road posted it and then Hilder realized he lived one street over.

“I just walked over there and I wasn’t going to leave until it was done unless it was to go get more things to help us get it done,” he explains.

Him and two other good Samaritan’s spent their Saturday taking bottles of Goo Gone to a stranger’s garage, noting that there is no place for this in society and certainly not in their community.

And Hilder has this message to anyone else who is thinking of doing something similar. “Look at yourself in the mirror. And whatever you want to say to someone else, say to yourself first and mean it.”

The victim is laying low, given the recent events but it was documented and filed with KPD as a hate crime.

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