House Torched in Black-on-White Revenge Attack

A black teenager is facing charges as an adult for what authorities are describing as the revenge arson of the home of a white woman and her two children. And his arrest, and that of a juvenile, may be just the tip of the iceberg, authorities say.

Already, Thaddeus Shields, 18, is facing a court hearing this week on the count, and a 17-year-old whose name was not released is facing juvenile court. Authorities, meanwhile, say their investigation continues and more perpetrators may be arrested and charged in the attack in Middletown, Ohio.

The alleged black-on-white crime earlier this week culminated a campaign of terror against the mother, according to a report by WCPO-TV.

The station reported that the victim, Jennifer Chitwood, came into conflict with members of a local gang about Thanksgiving last year when her home was burglarized.

“I caught them coming out . . . with my TV– my flat screen–and they threw it,” she told the station.

She reported the incident to police, and two weeks later her home was again hit by burglars.

“We took my daughter to school and back, and they were going around my house with my flat screens,” Chitwood reported.

As a result, according to Middletown Police Lieutenant Scott Reeve, a 16-year-old was charged. And that, Chitwood said, brought on the harassment.

“They don’t like you calling the police on them,” Chitwood said. “They said, ‘If you guys call the police we’re coming back for you.’ Every time I walk down the street I get called names by girls and guys. (They say), ‘You’re the one that called police on my brother. You’re the one that put my cousin in jail.’”

On Monday night, Chitwood, who fled the home before the fire with her sister and her children, a 4-month-old boy and a 4-year-old girl, reported to police that the gang had been harassing her again.

She said they were “jumping in and out of my yard, throwing things at my window.”

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Then, she said, “they started throwing flares, and kicking my door.”

That was when she decided to flee for her family’s safety through a back window of the home.

Three hours later, the fire was reported. It gutted the home, destroying all of the family’s belongings.

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Here’s one report:

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