Rochester police are investigating after a car was vandalized with racial epithets in the city's 19th Ward.

RPD says the suspect left the car with racist language spray-painted on the outside. The car's windshield was smashed and all four tires flattened.  

What You Need To Know

  • A car was found vandalized with racial epithets, flattened tires, and a smashed windshield

  • The victim says she he had an encounter with the suspects beforehand, who used racial slurs

  • She then walked out to find them vandalizing her car

  • A GoFundMe has been started to help pay for her new car 

It happened to a visitor of the neighborhood who says she had an encounter on Wednesday night when she was parking her car on Ravenwood Avenue.

“They were mad because I was taking too long to park and they drove passed me and just yelled, 'learn how to drive you black – ,'  said the car's owner, Dannielle Lumpkin of Batavia. "I was just like, OK, that wasn’t nice." 

Lumpkin returned to her car a short time later. 

“I came out to my car being vandalized, calling me a N B and just go back to Africa, my windows smashed….. And it was just shocking," she said. "I cried a little bit and then I called the police.”

Police are investigating this incident and so far do not have any suspects in custody.

“And I really wasn’t going to post about it," she said. "I didn’t really want anyone to know it happened. There’s so much negativity going on in the world right now with all this white against black, or all lives matter, black lives matter and I just didn’t want to add any negativity to the world right now. I feel like as people we all be the same. So I’m just like, OK God, I’m going to pray about it, I know you’ll figure it out and help me get a new car."

A prayer that is being answered, as a GoFundMe Page is raising money to help Lumpkin buy that new car.

Shamell Davis lives in the neighborhood and saw the car during his morning walk. 

“I just couldn’t believe it... definitely shocked to see it in this community specifically," he said. 

Lumpkin is still trying to wrap her head around what happened.

“Oh my God, I can’t believe stuff like this still happens," she said. "I can’t believe people are still really blind to the fact that there’s racism out here. I can’t believe somebody would really want to hurt somebody that badly, someone’s feelings. And immediately I just thought, God, I just need to pray for our world and for our environment, because it has to get better."

Police say this could potentially be considered a hate crime, depending on the evidence that is found during the investigation.