When Kanisha Allen and her family traveled to Rollins Lake in Nevada County, Calif., for a little camping trip, they thought it would be a fun, family time. However, the Sacramento, Calif., family ended up becoming victims of what they're calling a hate crime and are hoping that charges will be pressed against their assailants.
"I've been in car accidents, you know. You go through tense and scary situations in life, but nothing like this," Allen told Fox40.
The trip actually began on a good note.
"We pitched the tents, we bring the food, we cook the ribs," Allen told the news station. But things soon turned sour when a second, rowdier group came near their campsite.
"Some of the other campers from the rowdier group were just staring over and making racial comments," she said.
Still, the family let it slide, deciding to ignore the comments. The following night, though, they could not simply ignore it any longer. One man, Allen remembered, started to yell at them.
"[He said,] 'I didn't come here to sleep next to any f—king n's,' " Allen said, referring to his use of the n-word.
The man then started running toward them with what Allen said she originally thought was a gun.
"It was terrifying. I have a 9-month-old daughter, and I grabbed her, and the only thing that I could think of was, 'You need to go down the ravine and hide next to the water,' because we didn't know what was happening," Allen said.
While attempting to escape the man, Allen’s mother, who is in her 60s, fell down, injuring her face, Allen said.
"[My mother was alive during the civil rights movement, and] to have to relive some of the things that she had gone through in her younger years today, it is almost unbelievable," Allen told the station.
The police were called to the scene and found the man, who had tried to leave the campsite when he realized the authorities were coming. Sheriff’s deputies did not find any weapons on him, and so he was not arrested. The investigation, however, is ongoing, and charges may be filed against him.
"They didn't think that he was drunk and didn't find any weapons on him, and for some reason or another, decided to let him go. … We expressed that we had feared for our lives, you know? And still nothing was done at that point," Allen said.
The man and his companions were banned from the campsite, a manager informed the news site.
Read more at Fox40.