Sikh Temple Officials Urge Police To Investigate Graffiti Hate Crime
RIVERSIDE (CBSLA.com) — Sikh temple members urged authorities Wednesday to investigate a case of vandalism where the word "terrorist" was spray painted on their property.
The graffiti was discovered Tuesday morning at the Sikh Gurdwara, located in the 7940 Mission Boulevard in Riverside, temple officials said.
Sikh officials want the Riverside police and sheriff's departments, as well as the FBI and U.S. Justice Department to investigate the incident as a hate crime.
The vandalism comes nearly one year after a gunman killed six people at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin.
Sikhs are sometimes mistaken for Muslims because they wear turbans, but 99 percent of those wearing turbans in the U.S. are Sikh, according to SALDEF, which notes that there are about 750,000 Sikhs in the country.
Anyone with information about the vandalism should contact the Riverside County Sheriff's Department at (951) 776-1099.
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