Howard County police have a clue ? “?06” ? that could help in solving the hate crime vandalism spree in Ellicott City.
“That could stand for the class of 2006, for the June 6 weekend or the number 666 associated with the movie ?The Omen,? ” Howard County Police Chief William McMahon told a packed room at a Howard County NAACP meeting Monday night. The meeting was called to address the hate crimes.
Vandals used chemical treatments to burn white supremacist symbols ? swastikas, the words “White Power” and the letters “WP” ? into the lawns of 16 houses earlier this month.
However, only eight incidents contained messages of hate, McMahon told about 85 people gathered at the United Methodist Church?s conference center in Columbia.
Of those eight houses, four were white families, two Indian, one black and one Asian, he said.
In April, a 7-foot swastika was painted on Mount Hebron High School?s football field in Ellicott City, McMahon said.
“In these kind of cases, they?re often kids,” McMahon said.
Mary Campbell, compliance officer for Howard County?s Office of Human Rights, said most people who commit hate crimes are males between the ages of 14 and 26.
McMahon said police are raising thereward for information about the case from $1,000 to $1,500.
Howard County State?s Attorney Timothy McCrone pledged to be “aggressive” in prosecuting those responsible for the incidents.
“We will be doing our very best to stamp out what ignorance exists in Howard County,” McCrone said.
At a glance
» Howard County police define a hate crime as a crime motivated by a person?s race, religion, ethnicity or sexual orientation. A hate bias incident is fueled by the same motivations, but does not rise to the level of a crime.
