If you haven’t heard about this, you will. There’s a possible serial killer in Leesburg, but he’s not from here, he’s from Michigan. (Update – The police think the suspect has moved on to Toledo, Oh.) Here’s what the Post has to say:

Police in Leesburg are investigating a possible link between three recent unprovoked attacks in the city and a serial killer in Michigan.

The assailant is white, and in nearly all the cases the victims are black, prompting concerns the attacks may be racially motivated. Leesburg Police said a vehicle in which the attacker fled after one of the Virginia attacks – a dark green Chevrolet Blazer or GMC Jimmy that has two large grapefruit size dents in the hood – matches the description of a vehicle Michigan police believe the attacker may have used there. – The Washington Post

What’s worse is the racial tone of the attacks.

With a suspected serial killer conducting targeted, racially based attacks in Leesburg, in addition to as many as 16 additional attacks in Michigan, members of the African-American community are on high alert, and the Leesburg Police Department is working closely with Loudoun County NAACP to get the word out to anyone who could be a potential target.

Last week a 15-year-old boy and a 67-year-old man, both African-American, were stabbed in two separate incidents. Friday, a 19-year-old Hispanic male, who has been described as having a “dark complexion,” was hit with a hammer-like object. The stabbing victims are still in the hospital but are expected to recover, the third victim was released hours after his attack after being treated locally for non-threatening injuries.

During a press conference Monday, Leesburg Police Chief Joseph Price said law enforcement believes the victims are being targeted at random for their race and that no confrontation has occurred between the victims and the suspect. – Leesburg Today

We are a friendly, multiethnic community that has lived in harmony (more or less) for a while now, and violent hate has no place in my Leesburg.

Further complicating this story is the fact that members of Town Council were only told about the press conference, and the situation, as it was happening. Councilwoman Hammler had to get her information from the Leesburg Today website.

Councilwoman Katie Hammler expressed dismay that the council was not alerted to the press conference held Monday afternoon at police headquarters, where Chief Joseph Price said investigators were exploring links between the three attacks in Leesburg last week and more than a dozen attacks-five fatal-in the Flint, MI, area over the last few months.

Some council members said they were not aware a press conference was taking place until after the fact, with Hammler saying she was only able to see what was said via the Leesburg Today Web site, which provided video of the press conference. – Leesburg Today

Regardless of any process breakdowns in the notification of our elected officials, I’m very happy the Town Manager and Police acted swiftly to notify the public of the danger, especially considering the fact that one of the attacks took place right in the neighborhood of the Leesburg Public Safety Center.

In this tragedy is an opportunity for us to come together as a community in solidarity with our neighbors to say that we will not tolerate nor accept violence in the name of hatred on our streets. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this crime and their families, and all of us must be vigilant and on the lookout for the suspect or his vehicle.

Police are looking for a dark green four-door Chevy Blazer with a light colored trim package on the lower portion of the sides. The vehicle did not have a front license plate and no inspection stickers or other window decals were displayed. There are two “grapefruit-sized” dents in the hood near the latch area, police said.

We can and will show how strong Leesburg can be, when we are united.

[Update] – David posted about this over on Equality Loudoun, and it is an excellent read. Go check it out.

And he provided a link to this video of the suspect’s video in the comments, below.

(Crossposted from Leesburg Tomorrow.)