MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say an incident near the Kansas State University campus involving a black man's car being scrawled with racist graffiti is being investigated as a possible hate crime.

The FBI said Thursday that its Kansas City field office and its civil rights division have opened an investigation.

Riley County police say the vehicle was parked Wednesday near campus when it was defaced with racial slurs and other comments written in yellow paint. Police say the paint was washable and the car wasn't damaged.

The university says the car's owner isn't a student at the school in Manhattan, a city about 100 miles (161 kilometers) west of Kansas City.

The 21-year-old man declined comment and asked for privacy when contacted by The Associated.

Black students voiced concerns about recent racist incidents in a meeting Wednesday with school officials.