Philadelphia

Racist, Threatening Letter Delivered to Latinx Family Who Recently Moved Into Tacony Home

The letter mocked the homeowner for not speaking English and made several threats including burning down the home with them inside

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A family from the Dominican Republic who recently moved into a home in Philadelphia's Tacony neighborhood are uneasy after a racist letter threatening to bomb their house landed in their mailbox.

The letter which claims to be from the "local town watch group" mocked homeowner Connie Mella for speaking Spanish and threatened the family with harm.

"Let us make it PERFECTLY CLEAR since you must understand some of the English Language that WE do NOT intend to put up with any type of f---ing s--t from YOUR kind of sub human species!!" the letter read in part.

The author threatens to "fire bomb" the home if the family makes noise or plays loud music among other racist statements. They went on to say that they've bombed a house before. It's not clear if that is true.

"She never had a problem with [her] neighbors. She’s the type of person to make sure everybody like[s] her," Mella's son, Elvis, said in an interview with Telemundo62's Yaima Crespo on Friday.

Connie Mella has Dominican roots, but is a U.S. citizen. She's lived in the country for the past 20 years.

"We're humans, we can talk as grown ups. They can talk to her as a grown up," Elvis Mella said.

Despite a warning in the letter not to involve the police, the family reported the letter, which was sent through the mail and postmarked. Requests for comment from police were not immediately returned.

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