A cross is something most folks in the Riverside Drive area of Elkhart cannot imagine seeing burned.

While they didn’t see it happen at 2:40 in the morning on May 2nd, the knowledge that it did happen in Adam and Maggie Williams’s front yard is just as unsettling.

“I didn’t think anything like that would ever happen around here. I figured that would happen other places,” Robert Simmons, who lives just across the street from the Williams family says.

Another neighbor, Shannon Mowery, wonders if the fact that the couple is bi-racial motivated the action.

“It scared me because my children are also mixed so that makes you nervous and it makes you wonder if its going to affect you as well or if its just a beef between the two of them, or if its something that goes a little deeper,” Mowery says.

In order to dig a little deeper into why the incident happened, the FBI is now investigating the incident as a possible hate crime.

Elkhart police tell us the couple has had problems with some of their neighbors using racial slurs, but nothing criminal had taken place. Police say the charred remains of the cross aren’t necessarily evidence of a crime either.

“If they don’t know why it was burned, I guess it wouldn’t be a crime other than criminal mischief. It’s not even arson because it wasn’t anyone else’s property other than the person who left it there,” Ed Windbigler, Public Information Officer for Elkhart police explains.

If the person who left it there was motivated by hate, and was someone living in the area, nearby residents hope they're the ones motivated to move out.

“If it’s investigated, and this really is what’s taking place, that its hate crimes, then I hope that the landlords take care of the situation and make them leave,” Mowery says.

The Williams family held a press conference Thursday. Nearly a week after it happened, they're still reeling from the sight; but they're thankful for support from a majority of their neighbors.

"We've had flowers and plants, and people wanting to make sure the kids are okay, which we really appreciate," Maggie Williams said.

Meanwhile, their spokesperson, Bradley Vite, is encouraging more people in the Elkhart and surrounding community to stand behind the Williams family.

"If it happens to one of our citizens it happens to all of our citizens," Vite says.