Howard County Police Chief William McMahon recently told the hosts of the "And Then There's That" podcast that three incidents of gang-like activity in North Laurel are unusual for both the community and the county.

The incidents he referred to all occurred on Nov. 3 within a span of one hour, resulting in no injuries and the arrest of one juvenile.

In all three cases, a group of boys and young men surrounded and harassed residents–one a school bus carrying children, another a car carrying one elderly driver and the third a security guard who was assaulted while attempting to disperse the group.

"As alarming as this is…that is not characteristic of what goes on in that neighborhood," McMahon told hosts Paul Skalny and Dennis Lane, who broadcast for the website HoCoMoJo. "We're continuing to investigate all three incidents. Where we're able to, we planning on pursuing charges."

The one juvenile arrested was charged as a juvenile, according to police spokesperson Sherry Llewellyn.

But McMahon said a silver lining came from the incidents, with an outpouring of concern about on solving the problem at a recent community meeting on the issue.

"The good news is the community cares," said McMahon. "There was about 100 people there, and we've had less people turn out for a meeting about a homicide."

"In my 22 years with Howard County, I have never seen a group crime activity like this before," Police Capt. Ellsworth Jones III told residents at the North Laurel Community Center.

McMahon said the long-term plan should not simply be to arrest kids as the incidents occur, but to get the adults involved in cultivating a more civil environment.

"One of the residents said exactly what I was going to say, and that was, 'Hey, where are the parents? We as a community have a responsibility to police this, not the police department.'"

McMahon said he understood how residents in North Laurel and Savage could fear such incidents becoming a trend, but he cited a decrease in overall crime across the county.

"The good news is most of our crime categories are down this year, after being down last year…but nobody cares if robbery is down 20 percent if you've been robbed."