Masked men leave disturbing Christmas cards in San Bernardino County neighborhood
An investigation is underway in Yucaipa after multiple Christmas cards containing vulgar messages were left in a neighborhood overnight on Monday, leaving some residents on edge.
Although the cards appear to bear typical Christmas messages on the outside, several neighbors were disturbed upon opening the letters left on their doorsteps in the neighborhood near Wildwood Canyon State Park.
"I pick it up, open it, and it reads, 'Santa, I want the head of a Nazi under my tree,'" said Jaret McComas, one of the residents who received one of the troubling cards.
Each card came with a different violent or threatening message, including one card that simply read, "You are warned." Another said, "Merry Christmas and f— you Nazi."
It's something that McComas believes is supposed to cause problems ahead of the holidays.
"They're trying to cause chaos before the holidays and really scare people," he said.
Doorbell camera footage from some of the homes shows masked men placing the cards in various locations, such as planter boxes and on doormats, and then blowing a kiss to the camera. Another home's surveillance camera captured the suspects spitting on a Tesla belonging to their neighbor.
"It's really terrifying to be honest with you, because we're home. I have my 14-year-old daughter, what if she was outside? What if you see four men with masks on?" said Simona Stacks, another neighbor who got one of the cards.
She's among the many in the neighborhood who wonder why their homes were picked for the unwanted deliveries. They have one theory in mind.
"Maybe it's all the American flags, Trump flags," Stacks said. "Maybe feels, like, it really does feel like a bit of a hate crime."
San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department Public Information Officer Jenny Smith says that they haven't yet reached a motive or classified the investigation just yet.
"We're investigating to see what that crime could lead to, or what was the purpose of those letters," Smith said. "We don't have a specific crime indicated as of yet."
Deputies say that there were at least two suspects involved in the incident, and that when they were approached by one of the homeowners, they ran away on foot.
SBSD officials said that they would up the amount of patrols in the area as their investigation gets underway, and in the meantime neighbors say that they won't let the disturbing incident mar their holiday preparations.
"Gonna bring the Christmas spirit back to the street and hopefully that cheers everybody else up," McComas said.
Investigators believe that there may be additional unidentified victims of the incident and ask anyone with more information to contact them at (909) 918-2330.
