ELKHART — An Elkhart woman discovered a cross burning in her yard Thursday morning. Because the cross was put in the yard of an interracial couple, police are calling it a possible hate crime.

It happened in the 300 block of South Riverside in Elkhart just before 2 a.m. Thursday morning.

Elkhart Police do not have any suspects or persons of interest. The case has been turned over the the FBI, and agents have already collected evidence from the home. They're expected to return on Monday.

Mayor Dick Moore says the family is terrified and is trying to ensure this never happens again.

"That [the burning cross] is a hate thing that shouldn't go on in a neighborhood," said Melody Nonnemacher, a neighbor.

"Half my street is black, so whoever did it is not just against them. It's against almost everyone on our street," said Jamie Patton, another neighbor.

The couple was asleep inside the home with their four kids, feet from the burning cross.

"I didn't think it was going on anymore, but obviously there are people who still feel that way," said Nonnemacher.

Police say they don't remember the last time there was a burning cross, but they remember the last hate crime. It was in 1999, when two white teenagers circled an Elkhart block looking for a black man to kill. When they got to the intersection of Hawthorne Drive and Herrold Avenue, they shot and killed a man.

"It is something we are extremely concerned about and something we didn't expect to happen," said Moore.

He wants to make sure it never happens again.

"It is very important that we learn from this experience," said Moore. "That is the only thing that can come out of it that's any good at all."

After the 1999 shooting, the city held some conferences to discuss hate crimes. They are considering re-opening the public dialog.