(NEXSTAR) – The election season took an ugly turn in one southeastern Pennsylvania county after police say razor blades affixed to campaign signs injured at least one person.
“Over the past election cycles, we have dealt with theft of signs, vandalism of signs, neighbor disputes, etc.. but this is the first time we have dealt with this situation,” the Upper Makefield Township Police Dept. wrote in a statement. “What happened here is totally unacceptable and a disgusting act for which a resident ended up slicing their fingers.”
The injury happened when a resident tried to remove a sign for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro that had been placed without permission, police said Sunday.
The blades, which were attached “around the perimeter of the sign” were “designed to inflict punishment on anyone who attempted to remove the sign,” police said. They shared images of the signs on Facebook Sunday.
Blades were also found affixed to the signs of two other Democratic candidates, House candidate Ashley Ehasz and Senate candidate John Fetterman.
Police are urging residents to inspect any signs planted on their property without permission. As of Monday evening, police had not announced an arrest in the case and continued to investigate.
“No matter your political affiliation, no matter your candidate preference, resorting to this type of depravity is unacceptable and criminal,” Upper Makefield Township Police officials said. “We can do better and must.”
It’s not the first time police have found political campaign signs booby-trapped with razor blades. A 52-year-old building inspector needed stitches after police said a Trump 2020 sign with several razors taped to the bottom sliced open the worker’s fingers.