Three K's were painted on each driver-side window.

A swastika was sprayed across the hood below a racial slur. A profane insult to "Obama" covered the front passenger window near the N-word. On the roof, one word: "Trump."

And a message was written over the trunk: "Go back to Africa."

Residents in Wilmington's quiet Woodlawn neighborhood said they woke up Wednesday morning to see a vehicle on the street vandalized with white spray paint spelling out hateful messages and symbolism. The incident has left Wilmingtonians shaken, angry and confused, and police are investigating the incident as a hate crime.

Wilmington Police Detective Brandon Mosely is investigating this incident. He can be reached at (302) 576-3646 and tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at (800) TIP-3333.

"I didn't think they do that in Delaware," said 18-year-old Jamar Jackson, the brother of the vehicle owner. "Now I know they're everywhere. ... It made my grandmom feel unsafe."

Police officers initially took a report of "criminal mischief," said Sgt. Shawn Sowden. By Wednesday night, police said they were investigating the incident as a hate crime "due to the nature of the graffiti."

"No other cars in the area were damaged and as of this time this appears to be an isolated incident," police said.

"I hope the police give this a high priority," said City Councilman Bob Williams, a former police officer who represents District 7. "Let’s not allow this to escalate into something bigger."

The act drew condemnation from local and state officials.

“This behavior is contemptible," Mayor Mike Purzycki said in a statement. "We have no tolerance for this and will take all steps to find and prosecute the perpetrator.”

Gov. John Carney spoke out on Facebook.

"This expression of racism and hate is disgusting," he said. "I am so disturbed and upset to see this happen in my home state, and the city I've lived in for 30 years. We all need to stand up for our neighbors and refuse to tolerate this kind of intimidation."

The Wilmington City Council said in a statement: "There is simply no place for such acts of hatred and incidents like this should not be taken lightly."

The vandalism occurred amid a national conversation about racism, white supremacy and the mainstream re-emergence of groups like the Ku Klux Klan. Hate groups have garnered national attention recently after a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, led to violent clashes with counterprotesters and the death of a 32-year-old woman. President Donald Trump has been criticized for not responding forcefully enough against the white supremacists.

State Rep. Helene Kelley and County Councilman Jea Street released a joint statement saying that events in the past two weeks "have reminded everyone that there still is a lot of hatred and bigotry in our country, and even right here in our community."

"And when there isn’t an unequivocal, forceful condemnation from our leaders and society in general, it only encourages and emboldens those who express these views."

Religious groups, including the Jewish Community Relations Committee of the Jewish Federation of Delaware and the Council on American–Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil liberties organization, also spoke out against the incident.

"As the national conversation on racism grows in recent weeks, Charlottesville remains a tragic reminder of the fatal consequences of unchecked hate in our society," said Zainab Chaudry, spokesperson for the Council on American–Islamic Relations.

Williams said he finds hateful language in Wilmington "extremely disturbing."

"That's a very diverse neighborhood, and there’s little or no criminal activity going on there," he said. "For something to be of this nature, I find to be completely out of character, and I think it’s problematic. ... Regardless of what precipitated it, for it to rise to this level of hatred is just, there’s no compromising that. It’s out and out wrong."

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Bobby McCormick, a 54-year-old who lives across the street, sat on his porch Wednesday afternoon with his neighbor Ron Brooks facing the vehicle, which by that time was covered with a tarp.

"It puzzled us," he said. "We never had a problem like that around here. ... It's something you see on the TV, not right outside your door."

He added: "We don't want that around here. We don't need that."

Brooks, 47, said the attack on a single vehicle appeared personal.

"We're one big family here," he said. "I was shocked. I was not prepared to see anything like that in this neighborhood."

Antony Valentine, a 36-year-old neighbor from Puerto Rico, said there is too much racism and anger in the mainland United States.

"It's nothing new," he said. "You see it everywhere. It's hate."

Area resident Olivia Nasser, a mother of an 11-month-old daughter who has another baby on the way, posted photos of the vehicle on Facebook to express her feelings.

"I'm disgusted, I'm sad, and I'm terrified for my kids to grow up with such hate boldly displayed," she said. "It's scary and only getting worse."

Contact Christina Jedra at (302) 324-2837, cjedra@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @ChristinaJedra.