Howard County police said they have found four more incidents of racist graffiti burned into the lawns of Ellicott City homes Friday ? bringing the total number of homes vandalized with white supremacist symbols in the town this week to eight.
The four latest incidents occurred to three houses on the 8900 block of Chapel Avenue and one house on the 8900 block of Old Frederick Road. The houses had either the letters “WP” ? an apparent abbreviation for White Power ? or a swastika burned into the lawns.
Police, who found the latest four incidents on Friday afternoon, say they do not know whether the incidents targeted specific victims or if they were random. At least two of the latest victims were not racial minorities, police said.
On Thursday, police announced they had found four hate crimes of a similar nature committed on Ellicott City?s Stonehouse Drive. All of those incidents were committed against racial minorities.
Howard County police said they believe those four Stonehouse Drive lawns were damaged at the same time, likely last week. The homeowners said they noticed damage prior to the discovery of the first incident Monday, but could not discern the meaning until Thursday. The markings included swastikas, the words “White Power” and the letters “WP.”
Police are offering a $500 reward for helpful information.
In the first incident found by a homeowner on Monday, police described the swastika as 1 square foot in size and the words “White Power” as 1-by-4 feet. Residents of the neighborhood next to Old Frederick Road said Thursday that they noticed the markings spreading across the community as the weed killer processed over time and have expressed outrage at their multi-cultural neighborhood being targeted by vandals.
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 ask that anyone with information call 410-313-3200.
