STERLING, Ohio — New bodycam video has been made available showing the moments after a house in Wayne County exploded early Wednesday morning.
The video shows the house in the 6700 block of Spruce Street in Sterling up in flames.
There were also racial slurs and a swastika spray-painted on the garage as well as on two of the neighbor's cars. (We have blurred out both the language and the swastika)
The owners of the house, Brad and Angela Fraze were not home when it exploded. Angela Fraze said she received a call from a neighbor around 12:47 a.m. At first, they thought the home had been struck by lightning, but soon realized a full explosion had occurred.
Wayne County Sheriff's Deputies spoke to the Fraze family shortly after they arrived on the scene in the video. The couple explained that they had been living in a motel, as the home has been unoccupied since an electrical fire occurred there last month. They were planning on moving back into the home Sept. 3.
Wayne County Sheriff Travis Hutchinson said the explosion is being investigated as an intentional hate crime due to the home's vacancy, meaning there was no electricity or gas.
The Ohio Department of Commerce says the Sterling Fire District was called to the home Tuesday after an unknown person tried to ignite the home by filling it with natural gas and turning the stove burner on, but utilities were disconnected.
Construction crews were also at the house Tuesday and a gas company had been called to the scene. A deputy also responded, and the house was cleared. No graffiti or racial slurs were on the property at that time.
The Ohio Blue Ribon Arson Committee is offering a reward of up to $5,000 to anyone with information leading to the identification of the suspects.