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| Louisiana woman tells police men set her on fire in 'KKK' attack | Louisiana woman tells police men set her on fire in 'KKK' attack |
| (4 months later) | |
| A 20-year-old black woman told police she was set on fire by three men who wrote the initials KKK and a racial slur on her car in north-eastern Louisiana. | A 20-year-old black woman told police she was set on fire by three men who wrote the initials KKK and a racial slur on her car in north-eastern Louisiana. |
| A Louisiana State Police spokeswoman, Lt Julie Lewis, said Sharmeka Moffitt was found with burns on more than half of her body when police responded to her emergency call Sunday night. | A Louisiana State Police spokeswoman, Lt Julie Lewis, said Sharmeka Moffitt was found with burns on more than half of her body when police responded to her emergency call Sunday night. |
| Moffitt was in critical condition Monday at a hospital. Lewis said the FBI was investigating the attack as a possible hate crime, but that no arrests had been made as of late Monday. | Moffitt was in critical condition Monday at a hospital. Lewis said the FBI was investigating the attack as a possible hate crime, but that no arrests had been made as of late Monday. |
| Moffitt told police the men doused her in a flammable liquid and set her on fire in a town park. Lewis said she extinguished the fire using water from a spigot before a police officer arrived. | Moffitt told police the men doused her in a flammable liquid and set her on fire in a town park. Lewis said she extinguished the fire using water from a spigot before a police officer arrived. |
| Officers found the letters KKK – an apparent reference to the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan – and a racial slur smeared in a paste-like substance on the hood of her car, Lewis said. | Officers found the letters KKK – an apparent reference to the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan – and a racial slur smeared in a paste-like substance on the hood of her car, Lewis said. |
| On the emergency call, Moffitt described her attackers as three men wearing white hoods or hats, Lewis said. She later told a Winnsboro Police officer who responded to the call that the men were wearing white hoodies. She was unable to say what race her attackers were. The officer found no suspects or vehicles at Civitan Park in Winnsboro, where the attack allegedly happened, and the park has no surveillance cameras, Lewis said. She said the state crime lab was analyzing several pieces of evidence. | On the emergency call, Moffitt described her attackers as three men wearing white hoods or hats, Lewis said. She later told a Winnsboro Police officer who responded to the call that the men were wearing white hoodies. She was unable to say what race her attackers were. The officer found no suspects or vehicles at Civitan Park in Winnsboro, where the attack allegedly happened, and the park has no surveillance cameras, Lewis said. She said the state crime lab was analyzing several pieces of evidence. |
| Franklin Sheriff Kevin Cobb called it "a horrific event" and said authorities would "follow the facts and seek justice". | Franklin Sheriff Kevin Cobb called it "a horrific event" and said authorities would "follow the facts and seek justice". |
| Otis Chisley, the president of the local branch of the NAACP, a civil-rights group, said he had been in touch with Moffitt's distraught family. He said he was waiting for more facts to come to light before drawing any conclusions about what happened and that "everyone wants to move with caution." | Otis Chisley, the president of the local branch of the NAACP, a civil-rights group, said he had been in touch with Moffitt's distraught family. He said he was waiting for more facts to come to light before drawing any conclusions about what happened and that "everyone wants to move with caution." |
| Regardless of the investigation's outcome, though, Chisley said, racism and KKK activity remain a fact of life in the state. | Regardless of the investigation's outcome, though, Chisley said, racism and KKK activity remain a fact of life in the state. |
| "It's prevalent throughout Louisiana," he said. "It's hidden but it exists." | "It's prevalent throughout Louisiana," he said. "It's hidden but it exists." |
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