A 53-year-old man faces hate crime charges after police say he pointed a gun at two people while shouting racial slurs.
Harold Andrew Howard was charged with two counts of first-degree assault and committing a race/religious crime against a person or group following an incident in White Plains, Maryland, on Sunday.
The Charles County Sheriff’s Office said that an officer was sitting in an unmarked vehicle that day when a man ran up to his car and said someone pointed a shotgun at him.
The officer went to the scene where the confrontation happened and found Howard and noticed a shotgun in his car.
Authorities learned the incident started with an argument inside a store that spilled out into the parking lot. Howard allegedly called the victim and his friend racial slurs when the altercation started. When they all left the store, Howard continued yelling slurs in their direction as the victims loaded their purchases into their vehicle.
At one point, Howard went to his Chevy Silverado, retrieved a shotgun, pointed it in the air, and then aimed it at the victims, according to witness statements.
Investigators have not released information on the victims’ backgrounds, but court records obtained by South Maryland News Net reveal that Howard allegedly shouted, “I got something for you n****rs,” as he pointed his weapon at the individuals, who were about 20 yards away from Howard after he armed himself. The scene reportedly played out in a Tractor Supply Co. store parking lot.
After one person ran for help, the officer who responded arrested Howard at the scene.
Howard was booked into the Charles County Detention Center on multiple hate crime charges. His next court date is Nov. 20. He remains in custody.
“Hate can poison the fabric of a community, sowing division and mistrust among its members, leading to isolation and fear,” said Rev. Angelique Mason, President of BRIDGE Maryland and Pastor of Allen AME Church, in a news release. “The resulting devastation manifests in broken relationships, lost opportunities for collaboration, and a pervasive sense of despair that stifles growth and unity.”
Similar racial incidents frequently happen across the country.
Last week, a 31-year-old Kansas man was sentenced to nearly seven years in prison for pulling a weapon on two Black kids at a gas station in 2022 while calling them racial slurs. He was charged as well with trying to prevent a white woman from inviting Black visitors inside her home.
A California man was recently convicted of hate crime charges stemming from an incident in which he shouted racial slurs at a Black family on a highway and threw items at their car. The violent episode was caught on camera, and the video went viral in May 2023.
