Anti-Semitic slur reportedly written in snow on car in St. Paul

St. Paul police are investigating allegations that someone wrote anti-Semitic slurs in the snow on a car in the Mac-Groveland neighborhood.

Police received a call about 4 p.m. Thursday from a resident who reported that someone had stolen a yard sign and wrote "KKK Jew" on snow that had fallen on a car's windows, said police spokesman Steve Linders.

The vehicle was parked in the 1400 block of Lincoln Avenue. Linders said the case remains under investigation and that no similar incidents have been reported.

Shannon Kearney posted about the incident on a neighborhood Facebook page.

"Came home today to find our yard sign was stolen and this disturbing message was written on the car parked in front of our house on Lincoln off Pascal," she wrote.

Kearney said the yard sign that was taken read, "In this house, we believe: Black Lives Matter, Women's Rights are Human Rights, No Human is Illegal, Science is Real, Love is Love, Kindness is Everything."

Linders said it's unclear whether there were any witnesses or surveillance videos of the incident. The allegation has to be investigated to determine whether it is a crime before it is further investigated to determine whether it's a hate crime, he said.

The state reported an increase in hate crimes last year.

"I just think that there's no place for hate," said Kearney, an English teacher at St. Paul's Johnson High School. "It was a completely unnecessary thing to do, and words have power."

Kearney said she believes that the car belongs to a renter who lives across from her home. It was parked in front of Kearney's house.

The Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas (JCRC) condemned the act and urged anyone with information to step forward.

"Collectively, we reject these chilling acts and the hate they represent," said JCRC Executive Director Steve Hunegs.

Kearney believes the snow graffiti was written in protest of her sign. She said neither she nor her husband are Jewish, and she didn't believe any immediate neighbors were, either.

"I'm putting up another sign next week," she said.

Chao Xiong • 612-270-4708 Twitter: @ChaoStrib