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Spikes In Hate Crimes Surge In Montgomery County, Around Maryland

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Police say they are seeing a spike in bias incidents, which has become a troubling trend in Montgomery County. It comes after several hate-related crimes throughout Maryland in the last year.

Graffiti reading 'Trump Nation. Whites only' defaced a church in Silver Spring.

James Jackson from Baltimore was charged with murder as an act of terrorism in New York. Police say he stabbed his victim to death because he was African American.

And in Anne Arundel county, two teens face hate crime charges after surveillance video caught them placing a noose at Crofton Middle School.

Last week, a grand jury in Prince George's County indicted Sean Urbanski in the murder of Richard Collins III. The FBI is looking at that murder as a hate crime.

And in Montgomery County, police say the number of bias incidents has jumped up 83 percent.

"From January 1 to June 30 of this year, Montgomery County Police has had 67 reported cases of what we call 'bias incidents.' During that same period last year, we had 37 incidents reported," says Rick Goodale, with Montgomery County Police.

That's why Montgomery County officials say they're taking every bias report seriously -- but they can't do it alone.

"It requires the involvement of not only the police, schools, parents, community leaders, it takes all of us to solve these problems," says Goodale.

A majority of the bias incidents were in high schools and middle schools.

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