A boy selling lemonade in Virginia was struck with a balloon reportedly filled with urine earlier this month, in a bizarre attack that investigators may investigate as a bias crime.
Thirteen-year-old Tyler Hill and his sister were setting up a lemonade stand in the courtyard of a Fairfax County, Va. apartment complex on the evening of July 6, Fairfax County police said.
Police said a person wearing a "halloween-type" costume came out of one of the buildings at Camden Monument Place Apartments. The person, whose identity was concealed by the costume, approached the boy while carrying a red balloon.
"When he came out, I saw he had a water balloon and I said, ‘Please don’t throw it at me,’ and he said, ‘I’m sorry,’ and then he threw it at me and just ran back inside," Tyler told News4's Julie Carey.
Documents state the attacker then yelled "Go back to Africa, you [expletive]! It was only piss!" from a nearby balcony.
"I thought, ‘This is a really mean person,’ and I’m not even mean to anyone really. I’m pretty nice to people," Tyler said.
Tyler's father reported the incident to police, who say the incident has elements of a bias crime.
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"I do [think it was a bias crime], especially with what was yelled at him," Tyler's mother Tamika Hill said. "It's hard to explain to your child why someone would target them."
July 4, a man in the same complex came outside to find his motorcycle soaked in possible urine, along with pieces of a popped balloon. He suspects he was targeted by the same person, but police would not confirm whether the two incidents were related.
"I hope they catch this guy," Tyler said. "He needs to be caught. Something seriously needs to happen."
The incident remains under investigation.
