Car Crash at Woodworth Middle School May Have Involved Pastor Jones Supporters

Three people–who witnesses said identified themselves as supporters of Florida Pastor Terry Jones–crashed a car into a fence at Tuesday evening.

The incident happened during practice for Woodworth's track team. Several staff members and about 100 youth were outside of the school at the time of the crash.

Patch contributor Ian Kushnir reported that just before 5 p.m., a car drove erratically into the parking lot at Woodworth and into a chain-link fence at the perimeter of the school on Mead, knocking several posts loose. The female driver, who was accompanied by two male passengers, then proceeded to get out of the car and yell that they were supporters of Terry Jones and what may have been anti-Arab or anti-Islamic statements before getting back into their car and driving off.

at Dearborn on April 29 incited near-riot conditions after he came down the steps of City Hall and toward a crowd of hundreds on the other side of Michigan Avenue who were there to protest his speech.

At that time, Jones was joined by more than 30 people who allied themselves as his supporters.

Police were called to the scene at Woodworth Tuesday night, but Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad said at this point, they are not looking to arrest the involved parties.

"If we investigate to find out that it was anything more than an unintended event, we’re going to hold the people accountable," he said.

Haddad added that, "there was some information that perhaps they were Pastor Jones supporters from Friday” but that he "can't put any weight to that at all." However, investigation was ongoing on Wednesday afternoon, and the case has been assigned to a detective.

Anti-Arab Sentiment Flaring Up

The incident comes at a time when reports of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiments and actions are growing throughout the country.

Fridley Patch in Minnesota that the Islamic Center of Minnesota received five hate emails in reaction to Osama bin Laden's .

“I think there’s going to be a short period of time where we’re not going to be as safe,” said Meri Ayoub, who has been a secretary for the Islamic Center of Minnesota in Fridley for 10 years. “The words, ‘Islam’ and ‘Muslims’ are back in the media, and they have polarized people again.”

In Dearborn, Arab American Community Center for Economic and Social Services President Hassan Jaber said that the Pastor Jones incident, in particular, has meant that the community must have a heightened awareness of the possibility of anti-Arab crimes or statements.

“In light of Pastor Terry Jones’ instigation, we may see an increased backlash from some fringe elements," Jaber wrote Wednesday from Washington, D.C., where he was attending the National Arab American Advocacy Week. "We need to be vigilant in reporting any such incidents to the police, and we need to make sure that we continue to come together, as a community, in unity.”

The Detroit Free Press reported Wednesday morning that a private meeting would happen that afternoon in Dearborn Heights between federal law enforcement officials and local Arab-American and Muslim leaders.

Police Chief Haddad said Wednesday that he was not aware of any hate mail or suspicious persons at any Dearborn mosques or Islamic schools, but that his department is watching out for a possible increase in hateful actions brought on by either Jones' presence in Dearborn, or the death of bin Laden.

“We definitely are doing that," he said of giving increased attention to the issue. "We’ve been doing that for two weeks, and with the killing of bin Laden, we stepped it up. So that’s definitely on our radar.”

There's no conclusive evidence, however, that Tuesday's incident at Woodworth was motivated by racial or ethnic prejudice.

Stay with Patch as this story develops.