WOODBRIDGE, Va. — Over a span of a couple of days, five cars were found vandalized with marked swastikas in a Woodbridge neighborhood, according to Prince William County Police Department.
Officers were alerted of the destruction of property claims after responding to an incident in the area of the 5200 block of Aetna Springs Road Monday evening.
An investigation into the vandalism revealed that between June 26 and June 28, five different cars on Aetna Springs Road were vandalized. Police said the license plates of the cars were drawn on with markers and had swastika symbols and inappropriate language, but the words did not contain any threats.
Police believe the vandalism wasn't targeting anyone specific in the neighborhood.
The inappropriate drawings have since been removed and detectives are actively investigating the incident to determine a motive.
Data revealed by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) found there were 2,024 reported antisemitic incidents in the country, a 4% decrease compared to 2019. While there was a slight decrease, it still is the third-highest year on record since the group began tracking in 1979. ADL is particularly concerned about the increase in harassment in 2020.
Numbers were higher in Virginia compared to D.C. and Maryland with reports of 49 antisemitic incidents in 2020. The cases were already 28 in 2019. Sixteen incidents accounted for vandalism in 2020 when it was 12 in 2019. The commonwealth saw a 106% increase in harassment, going from 16 in 2019 to 33 the following year. There were no reports of assault over the last five years.
The ADL also tracked other cases of racist and other hateful messages last year. Combined with antisemitic messages, the number of reports surpassed more than 5,000 cases, a tenfold increase from 2017.
Sign up for the Get Up DC newsletter: Your forecast. Your commute. Your news.
Sign up for the Capitol Breach email newsletter, delivering the latest breaking news and a roundup of the investigation into the Capitol Riots on January 6, 2021.