Miami-Dade police

Early-Morning Explosion at Home of Homestead Gay Couple Being Investigated as Possible Hate Crime

An early-morning explosion at a house in Homestead has police investigating whether the couple who lives there is being targeted because they are gay.

Police responded to two calls of disturbances at the home off Southwest 282nd Street and 133rd Place early Thursday morning. The first call around 1:20 a.m. was to notify authorities of rocks being thrown at the home. The second call made about 20 minutes later, reported an explosive had gone off outside the home.

No one was hurt, but photos given to NBC 6 show damage to the home that includes a broken window.

It’s not the first time that the homeowners say they have been targeted. In May, another reported incident involving rocks being thrown at the home took place.

Lawrence Huete and his partner have lived in the home for a while but said they may have to move out now.

"It's sad, I mean, I've been here four years, it could've been a tragedy, a real tragedy," he said. "We were sitting on the couch, saw someone fidget with the cardboard we had put up, thought it was the cops, saw the smoke, blew the whole thing."

Miami-Dade Police did say they are investigating to see if the incidents were done as hate crimes.

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