LAPD investigating hate crime against Islamic Center of SoCal

Detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Olympic Division are investigating hate-filled graffiti left on columns in the front of the Islamic Center of Southern California (ICSC) early Sunday morning.

The LAPD said that around 12:40 a.m. Sunday, a white or Hispanic man around 40 to 50 years old, 5 feet 9 inches tall and 180 pounds wearing a black jacket, a black shirt with an unknown type of design, black pants, black shoes and a black beanie, used a permanent marker to scrawl hate-filled messages on three of the columns.

The LAPD requests anyone with information about the incident is asked to call LAPD Detective Guzman at 213-382-9440.

The Islamic Center of Southern California (ICSC) released a statement decrying the hate-filled attack on the center:

“We are deeply saddened and disturbed to announce that a hate crime against the Muslim Community at the Islamic Center of Southern California occurred early yesterday morning on Easter Sunday in Los Angeles,” read the statement. “This is an appalling act of vandalism targeting the center where innocent individuals gather for their daily religious observances.”

BRODY LEVESQUE