BALTIMORE, Maryland – Several attacks targeting a Muslim family apartment in Windsor Mill, Baltimore, including break-in and arson, have forced the family to leave their house for the fear of their lives.

“The family would return home and they would see these cryptic messages — alarming cryptic messages — that were scrawled on the wall,” Zainab Chaudry, with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, spoke on behalf of the family, WBALTV reported on Saturday, September 17.

Chaudry said the graffiti had been scrawled before the fire was set, during a series of break-ins that began Aug. 20.

One of the words painted on the wall was “ISIS.”

Baltimore County police said they are investigating three incidents, one of which involved arson.

“The mother had walked into the apartment and the gas range was on and there was some kind of flammable item that was on the stove, and had she not walked in at the time that she did, the entire apartment would have just caught fire and burned,” Chaudry said.

Baltimore County police are investigating the arson, burglary and destruction of property but haven’t named any suspects.

It said the attacks, targeting a Muslim woman, who is widowed, and her two children, ages 9 and 12, could be bias related.

“The kind of rhetoric that politicians and candidates running for office are espousing, it’s really a climate that makes it acceptable to vilify Muslims and demonize Islam, and unfortunately, Muslims and community members who resemble Muslims are bearing the brunt of that,” Chaudry said.

Chaudry said the woman and her two young sons are now living with relatives in Bel Air.

The family is offering a $1,000 reward for information.

“We are calling on authorities to do their due diligence to figure out who’s behind these incidents and bring them to justice so this family can return to their normal lives,” Chaudry said.

Chaudry said she was pleased the county department has classified the arson as a possible bias-related crime.

“It sends a strong message, especially to the Muslim community, that these kinds of incidents are not being downplayed,” she said.

She said CAIR has “been getting reports of multiple incidents happening, not only in Maryland but across the country,” Chaudry said.

“It’s become normalized and accepted to vilify Muslims,” she said.