Hate-Filled Fliers Scattered Through Ellicott City, Police Searching For Suspects
ELLICOTT CITY, Md. (WJZ) — Hate has reared its head in Howard County.
Police there are investigating dozens of fliers filled with hate speech found a street in Ellicott City.
Authorities aren't saying what the flier said or what it looked like, but revealed about 40 of them were found along Main Street Saturday night.
Ellicott City is still healing from its hardships. But Saturday night, someone introduced intolerance.
Flinging fliers filled with speech near Main Street — police say, possibly out a car window.
KKK Fliers Found In Prince George's County
"It looks like the street was littered with about 40 of these fliers. Once we got two reports that came in, we immediately went out to the area and collected all the ones that were visible," Sherry Llewellyn , of Howard County Police.
Howard County Police say the fliers weren't targeted at any one person or business.
County Executive Allan Kittleman and Councilman John Weinstein said in a statement.
"There is no place for hate in our society and after all Ellicott City has been through in the past two years, it is heartbreaking to see this community faced with this disgusting display of antisemitism, racism and intolerance."
County Executive-elect, Calvin Ball, the first African American elected to his position, said, "we will rise to this challenge."
Just last week, neighbors in Anne Arundel and Prince George's counties awoke to KKK fliers in their driveways.
Similar fliers were found in South Baltimore last month.
In June, anti-Semitic pamphlets were found in a laurel community.
Maryland Law enforcement saw 35% more hate crimes in 2017 than 2016.
Hate Fliers Found Scattered In Ellicott City
"This kind of thing is unacceptable anywhere. Certainly anywhere in Howard County, anywhere in our surrounding jurisdictions, anywhere in our country," Llewellyn said.
In one of Maryland's most diverse counties, an investigation into who is inciting hate is now underway.
Howard County Police are asking residents in this area with doorbell cameras to check them. They're hoping they might hold clues to who did this and any car they were driving.
Anyone with information about the fliers or those responsible for them is asked to call police at (410) 313-2200.
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