A black family in Alhambra was the victim of an apparent hate crime Monday night when their home was broken into and every room was vandalized, police said.

About 3 p.m., a resident returned to their home in 2000 block of Midwickhill Drive and found the N-word and other racial epithets scrawled in red spray paint in every room of the house, belongings smashed, food thrown about and the smell of bleach and vinegar thick in the air.

Swastikas were also spray-painted inside the home, CBS Los Angeles reported.

“It’s no question, the worst thing in 24 years of law enforcement I’ve ever seen,” Sgt. Jerry Johnson told NBC4.


The air was so thick with the smell of chemicals that firefighters had to show up and treat police officers investigating the incident, NBC reported.

The house was in such bad shape the family couldn’t immediately tell what had been stolen except for some guns, Johnson said. There have been no arrests and police continue to investigate.

ALSO:

L.A. Now Live: City Hall staff silent on L.A. streetcar red flags


Death toll in Fontana crash rises to three, including 2-year-old girl

Explosion in parked pickup truck rocks North Hollywood neighborhood

Joseph.serna@latimes.com

Twitter: @josephserna