Vandalism at Sikh temple investigated as possible hate crime

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. (AP) — Police in Washington state are searching for a man they say vandalized a Sikh temple south of Seattle in what’s being investigated as a possible hate crime.

Several portable electronic devices were stolen during the Friday break-in at the Khalsa Gurmat Center in Federal Way.

The building houses religious, educational and social services for local Sikh residents. The suspect was seen on surveillance video damaging the center’s main hall and prayer area, KOMO-TV reported.

No one from the center was present at the time.

Investigators were trying to determine if the incident was a hate crime, Federal Way Police Department Cmdr. Kurt Schwan said.

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This story has been corrected with the temple located south of Seattle, not Portland.