'KKK,' cross burned into Ore. yard

MEDFORD, Ore., May 28 (UPI) -- Police in Medford, Ore., said they are searching for three men suspected of using flames to etch the letters "KKK" and a cross in a family's yard.

Investigators said three men, described as thin white men in their early 20s or late teens, were seen in the street and the yard of Sol and Jonathan Whyte during the incident, The (Medford, Ore.) Mail Tribune reported Wednesday.

Jonathan Whyte, who moved to the city from Jamaica in 2000, said he does not know why the house he shares with his wife and young daughters Sashagayle, 4, and Jasmatea, 2, was targeted.

"I don't know why this happened. I don't know how this happened," he said.

Police said an Oregon State Police bomb squad was called to the scene after officers found an explosive device made from a bottle and altered fireworks in the Whytes' yard.

Investigators said the case is being treated as a racially motivated hate crime.