CMPD seeks public’s help in solving hate crimes against Jewish family

Police on Monday asked for the public’s help in solving three hate crimes since Thursday against a Jewish family in Steele Creek.

Ronald Gale and his fiancee, Traci Kendrick, found a swastika on their back door Thursday evening after they returned home from a Rosh Hashanah ceremony at Freedom Park. Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish new year and marks the start of the High Holy Days for Jews. These 10 days of repentance and introspection culminates with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which starts at sundown Friday.

On Saturday, the family reported finding the words “See you” on a window screen at their home in the Savannah Townhomes community, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Major Gerald Smith said at a news conference on Monday afternoon.

On Monday, a female who lives in the home found the words “White Power” written on a wall of a bathroom beside the community’s workout room. Police believe those words were also intended for the family, as no one else in the community has complained about being similarly victimized, Smith said.

CMPD has increased foot and bike patrols, alerted federal law enforcement and conducted “zone checks” around synagogues in the city, Smith said. CMPD also is arranging a community meeting where the incidents occurred in southwest Charlotte.

“We’re looking at the safety of our community overall, especially the victims themselves,” Smith said. “We’ve pulled out all the stops on this. You’ll see a very heavy presence out there. It’s very concerning, not only for residents of the apartment but the entire community. We don’t want this to ramp up any further than it already has.”

Anyone with information is urged to call police at 704-432-8477 or Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.

This story was originally published September 25, 2017 at 5:55 PM with the headline "CMPD seeks public’s help in solving hate crimes against Jewish family."