MOSCOW (AP) — Ukrainian police have evacuated a small group of Roma residents from a southern town after villagers ransacked their homes.

Local residents in Loshchynivka, just a few miles from the border with Romania and the Black Sea, attacked Roma homes over the weekend in what they say was retaliation for the killing of a 9-year old girl.

The prosecutor for the Odessa region, Heorhiy Lortkipanidze, told local television on Monday that one suspect has been detained and will face a preliminary hearing. He wouldn't identify the suspect.

Police were sent to the small village on Sunday after local residents threatened the Roma residents. The police officers escorted the Roma out of the village, protecting them from an angry mob.