Andrew Wyrich

Staff Writer @AndrewWyrich

"KKK," "Trump," and swastikas were drawn on walls in Whitlock's home after the Tuesday night break-in.

Moonachie Police are investigating the incident

MOONACHIE — Shortly after Giants fullback Nikita Whitlock recounted to The Record the feelings of disappointment and confusion that have emerged since his home was broken into on Tuesday night and defaced with several racially charged epithets, local police announced they are investigating the incident as a hate crime.

Whitlock returned home with his family on Tuesday night and found "KKK," three swastikas and other racist language scrawled onto the walls of home. The largest word, "Trump," was also written in marker on the wall leading up his staircase.

His immediate thought upon entering his home was to make sure he kept his family safe, he told The Record early Thursday morning, but in the hours after the incident he reflected on what was now littered throughout his home.

“Of course there are the common feelings you have of being violated, feelings of hatred, feelings of ‘Why us?’ which, it’s apparent why us,” he said in the living room of his home. “I don’t think we felt ‘targeted’ at first … then as you see it and how specific some of the things are on the walls, and then we actually had an attempted break-in three weeks prior … it just felt like somebody was definitely trying to get us.”

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Moonachie Police confirmed on Wednesday night that they are investigating the Tuesday night break-in and vandalism — which happened between 6:30 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. — and racially charged graffiti that were left in Whitlock’s home. Sgt. Richard Behrens said on Thursday that police are investigating the incident as a hate crime and are canvassing the area for any neighbors who may have seen something on Tuesday night or have security cameras with footage the police could review.

"Based on the content and messages on the wall, we will be treating this as a hate crime," Behrens told The Record. "It appears to be bias."

The Anti-Defamation League issued a release saying it was "deeply troubled" by the incident.

“What took place at the home of Nikita Whitlock is unconscionable and a cowardly act which has no place in our society,” Evan R. Bernstein, ADL New York regional director, said in the release.

On Thursday, Whitlock had covered up the scrawls with large bedsheets in an effort to shield his son from the words of hate. The home’s side door had a large crack in its window and the metal wiring on it was mangled.

While Whitlock said he has recently spoken to his son about race relations in the country — specifically since Donald Trump was elected president — he said he felt the timing was not right to explain exactly what happened on Tuesday, besides a robbery.

Whitlock said he posted a photo of some of the more offensive slurs on his Instagram page because it was “something that needed to be out there.” After discussing it with his family, Whitlock said they decided that people needed to know that racist attacks like the one he experienced “can happen to anyone.”

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“I’m one of the last people you think this would happen to,” he said. “I’m in a nice area, I make good money, I keep to myself, and I’m not flashy. … Instead of coming close to home they came inside. I have a lot of peers and a lot of family and people in my circle who don’t believe these kinds of things can happen to them or to me or to us. Everybody thinks ‘Oh, wow, that was close to home’ because it was in your town or it was in the city next to you. We’re not the only ones affected by this.”

When Whitlock called his mother and grandmother, they cried at the news, he said.

“Everybody is hurt by this,” he said. “For them as well as us, it is inside their house, too.”

The fact that “Trump” was written in large letters along the wall leading to the second floor of his home bothered Whitlock, he said. The name was covered on Thursday in a large white bedsheet.

“It’s pretty simple: They broke in, they vandalized, they shared their opinion — they could have shared it on Facebook, but they decided to share it in this fashion,” he said. “I think the one thing that does disturb me more is the fact that people are using Trump’s name. To me, it’s like, OK, you believe Trump believes certain things. But he wasn’t here. This was a personal decision, not a Trump decision. So next time write your name on the wall.”

Whitlock's teammate Victor Cruz said he was troubled by the effect Trump has had on some of his supporters.

"That’s our problem, that you’re worried about what someone of influence may be talking about and his opinion rather than attacking the actual issue at hand, and that’s innocent minorities dying on a daily basis, dying on a weekly basis, or going through things with their family, vandalism," Cruz said. "[This is] in the tri-state area. This is right here in our home. This is our back yard and these things are happening.”

Brian McCarthy, the vice president of communications for the NFL, called the incident "abhorrent and disappointing" and offered Whitlock and his family a "home security assessment." Pat Hanlon, the senior vice president of communications for the Giants, declined to comment, but added that the team and NFL have offered security assistance to Whitlock and his family.

Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. weighted in on the matter as well.

"I am saddened by what our neighbor and his family had to go through," Pascrell, D-Paterson, said in a statement. "Hateful and race-based scare tactics are on the rise. I am confident law enforcement officials will address these crimes fully, but in the meantime let's do what we can, where we can, to combat this dangerous pathology."

Moonachie police are asking anyone with information about the break-in to call them at 201-641-9100.

Email: wyrich@northjersey.com Twitter: @AndrewWyrich

Staff writer Tara Sullivan contributed to this article.