If you own a home with an American flag placed out front you may become a victim of arsonists.
Police in the Sacramento, California suburb of Citrus Heights are investigating a string of arsons targeting homes displaying the American flag.
According to CBS13, at least four homes were targeted in the Sungarden neighborhood Saturday morning.
A charred pole is all that’s left of the American Flag that had been flying outside Marie Nuzzi’s home.
“If it had burned longer it would have caught the house on fire,” Nuzzi said. “Somebody’s lives, for what?”
The fire was set at about 3 a.m. Saturday morning and burnt out before reaching the house where Nuzzi and three other family members were sleeping inside.
“It was a nylon flag, so it’s just all this black soot is just on the concrete,” Nuzzi said. -CBS13
Down the street from Nuzzi, arsonists set trees on fire at another home which had smaller American flags on display around the front lawn, while at least two other American flags were set ablaze.
Local resident Michael Howard, who helped clean up the ashes, says he's never seen this type of crime in his 10 years in the neighborhood.
"This is the first time anything’s happened," he said. "Gut reaction? Is it somebody with an agenda?"
Police are investigating whether the arsons are tied to the nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for over eight minutes as onlookers begged him to stop.
Nuzzi isn't so sure.
"I really don’t want to think like that, I really don’t," she said, adding "I just think it was kind of a random thing."
Police are asking for the public's help with any surveillance footage from ring doorbells or other cameras which may have recorded the suspects around 3 a.m. on Saturday.