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• Jan 29, 2008 7:58 am US/Eastern
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  Hate Crime Not Ruled Out In Vandalism

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Hate Crime Not Ruled Out In Vandalism

Anne Arundel County police have changed their minds about the racial slur spray painted on the home of a black Odenton family.

Investigators initially didn't consider the vandalism a hate crime because the teenage suspects are black. Police reversed themselves Monday, saying the possibility that the incident might be classified as a hate crime had not been ruled out.

Anne Arundel State's Attorney Frank Weathersbee says if the vandalism was intended as a joke it could be difficult to show that it was motivated by hate.

Carl Snowden, who heads the Office for Civil Rights in the Maryland attorney general's office, says same-race hate crimes could be one topic when the state NAACP meets with state prosecutors in March to discuss other hate crime issues.

(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)