MESA, Ariz. (AP) -- Community activists from the NAACP, the Phoenix Anti-Defamation League and Mesa police have met with residents over the recent attacks on two Mormon teenagers.

Presenters at the Monday night forum discussed hate crime laws and recent incidents of prejudice.

Bill Strauss of the Anti-Defamation League said he was alarmed by recent events involving hate crimes.

"I'm scared to death of what might happen in Arizona," Strauss said.

"This is America; this isn't supposed to happen here. This is the legacy we have been left with unfortunately it is often times not true."

Strauss commended Mesa authorities for their pursuit and capture of the two teenagers allegedly responsible for the attack.

Police said the suspects, with carved swastikas on their wrists, are accused of attacking the Mormon teenagers with pellet guns and beating them. One of the victims was sent to the hospital.

Strauss told a gathering of about 60 Mesa residents that Blacks, Jews, gays and lesbians constitute the largest percentage of those victimized by hate crimes.

A majority of the hate crimes are manifested in the destruction or vandalism of property, Strauss said.

There were 254 incidents reported in 2003 involving hate crimes, according to statistics from the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

The Anti-Defamation League describes hate crimes as criminal offenses against a person or property, motivated wholly or in part by an individual's race, religion, ethnic/national origin, sexual orientation, gender or disability.

According to DPS, the Mesa and Phoenix police departments deal with the greatest number of hate-related crimes.

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Information from: East Valley Tribune/Scottsdale Tribune, http://www.eastvalleytribune.com

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