Less than a week after an Indian man was partially paralysed in an attack by the police in Alabama, a Hindu temple in the state of Washington was vandalised with graffiti-style hate speech spray-painted onto its walls.
In a separate incident, a young Indian-American man was shot dead in his store in New Jersey.
Over the weekend, authorities in Bothell, Washington, noticed that one wall of the Hindu Temple Cultural Centre had been painted with a swastika and the words “Get Out.”
The incident comes ahead of the Shivaratri celebration at the temple, a major event at one of the largest Hindu houses of worship in north-western U.S.
Addressing the crowds thronging the temple, Snohomish County executive John Lovick was quoted as saying, “I’m telling you now that we’re going to do everything we can to try and find the person who did this and bring them to justice.” The Sheriff’s office spokesperson said that no suspects had been identified yet.
“Houses of worship are places where people should be able to be safe, at peace, and inspired to serve others,” said Padma Kuppa, Board member of the Hindu American Foundation.
She said, “Instead, the vandalism of the Hindu temple in Seattle and the arson of a mosque in Houston this past weekend incite fear and result in distrust among communities.”
