Suspect Placed Bacon On Door, Shattered Windows At Davis Islamic Center
DAVIS (CBS13) -- The Davis Police Department is investigating vandalism of the Davis Islamic Center as a hate crime.
Officers responded Sunday morning to the religious center and found that a suspect had shattered six window panes on the outside of the building and placed strips of bacon on an exterior door handle.
Two bicycles parked on the property had also been destroyed, police say.
"She started at the main door," said Amr Zedan, president of the center. "Walked around all the glass she could find."
Police say that the crime occurred between 3:45 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. on Sunday morning and that the suspect is described as a white female adult between the ages of 25-35 years old, between 5'4" and 5'8" tall and weighs between 160-180 lbs.
Davis police tell CBS13 that the suspect was last seen wearing a black hat with an unknown logo, an off-white vest with a shirt underneath, beige high-top shoes, and gray or blue tight fitting pants.
"If I say I was not scared, then that's not true. We're all scared," said Ammar Shahin, head of clergy at the center.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations released a statement asking the FBI to investigate the hate crime. The Washington D.C.-based civil rights group says that they have noticed a significant spike in similar incidents targeting Muslims since the November 8 Election.
"The swift apprehension and punishment of those responsible for this act of religious intimidation will send the message that the growing Islamophobia we are witnessing in our nation will not be tolerated or ignored," said CAIR-SV Executive Director Basim Elkarra in a statement on Sunday.
Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call the Davis Police Department.