Family says loved one was a victim of a racist verbal assault

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    OMAHA, Nebraska (WOWT) — “You see it happening across the country and I didn’t expect that it would hit us so close to home,” Noah said Tuesday afternoon about an incident that involved his father-in-law, John.

It was a scary moment for John, who takes a walk in his neighborhood almost every day. He doesn’t speak much English so his daughter, Skylar, and son-in-law, Noah, translated what he said happened.

“A car came behind him. And the car stopped when they saw him,” Skylar said.

The family chose to hide their identities in fear of what could happen for speaking out. They said John was targeted for being Asian.

John said several people in the car began harassing him.

“And they were rolling down their window and saying you know the racist’s slurs,” Skylar said.

A black sedan is believed to be involved. It was captured on security camera footage from neighbors.

“We have people saying they saw my father-in-law. We have people saying that they saw the car multiple times. Just check your ring doorbells,” Noah explained.

According to John, some of the people got out of the car. At that point, he did not want to keep walking home in case they would continue to follow.

“So, he actually waited behind the trees for a bit and then they left,” Skylar explained.

John was able to get home safely. He immediately told his daughter what happened and it left behind feelings of anger and confusion.

“We want to see the best in people and we don’t want to see people as racist people or anything like that because you know those people, they’re not common in our opinion,” Skylar added.

Noah said it left him with a lot of questions.

”If he didn’t have the dog with him. If it was later at night. If a streetlight was out this could have been a different situation,” he said.

The family encourages more people to check their security footage and to stay alert.

They said while it’s a difficult situation, they are choosing to focus on the positive.

“There’s people out there that won’t stand for this, that this isn’t a place for hate,” Noah added.

The alleged incident happened in the area south of 192nd and West Center. That is in the jurisdiction of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.

The family reported it to the department and it has since been forwarded to criminal investigations.

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