AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The fun of finding Easter eggs took an ugly turn in Auburn Hills Sunday when neighbors reported that they found racist notes stuffed inside plastic eggs, WDIV-TV in Detroit reported.

Some African-American families said they found the plastic eggs tossed in their yards with hateful messages inside.

Some of the messages included the N-word and references to the Aryan Nation.

Shamir Lyles said she watched a girlfriend's son open one of the eggs.

"He was shocked. He didn't know what it was, he thought it was the Easter bunny," she said. "I mean, you know the feelings are out there and the thoughts are there, but to just be openly displayed like this ... I was really kind of shocked this happened in our area."

Police said they are investigating.