An Ellicott City man and his daughter were walking in their neighborhood Monday evening when they noticed something was wrong with their front lawn.
The man, who is black, saw what he thought was a swastika symbol burned into his yard. Then he noticed the letters.
They read “White Power.”
“It was very disturbing,” said the man?s wife, who asked that her family not be named.
“I just want [the police] to catch them, so this doesn?t happen to anyone else.”
Residents of Ellicott City?s Stonehouse Drive, where the family lives, expressed outrage Tuesday at the incident, which Howard County police are calling a hate crime. Police are offering a $500 reward for information about the incident.
Neighbor Linda Mclain, 43, said she was “shocked” that someone would burn racist graffiti in a family?s yard. Alexcia Redd, 34, a neighbor and friend, said the victimized family doesn?t deserve to be treated this way.
“They are the nicest people,” she said. “They would in no way warrant anyone to do this.”
Police described the swastika as 1 square foot in size and the words “White Power” as 1 foot by 4 feet.
Police investigators believe the symbol might have been created using a chemical or weed killer. Investigators said the vandal likely burned the lawn sometime over the weekend and that the chemical damage became evident after a few days.
Howard County experienced 56 hate-bias incidents in 2005; 55 in 2004; 38 in 2003; 36 in 2002; and 68 in 2001. A hate-bias is a crime motivated by a victim?s race, religion or sexual orientation.
Police say they are canvassing the neighborhood, distributing reward fliers and talking to neighbors.
They are asking anyone with information to call 410-313-3200.
