EVERETT, Wash. — As nationwide protests of racial injustice continue, KIRO 7 News learned hate crimes have substantially increased in Washington state.
Everett police believe the latest hate crime in western Washington occurred Thursday, June 11.
According to court papers, 37-year-old Brooke Bowne approached a black man sitting in his car at 6300 Evergreen Way in Everett.
Bowen is accused of calling that man the N-word, before deliberately smashing his windows.
Police said the incident was totally random and unprovoked.
In the aftermath of that case, KIRO 7 News examined how often hate crimes occur in Washington state.
According to the most recent FBI numbers, there were 506 hate crimes in Washington state in 2018, which was up from 387 cases only two years earlier.
In fact, the FBI stated that Washington state had the fourth-highest number of hate crimes in the entire country.
The figures didn’t come as a surprise to a University Place woman.
A few days ago, she recorded the tail end of a convenience store confrontation, where she said a man insulted and yelled at her for speaking Spanish.
The incident left her so shaken, she told KIRO 7 News she was too afraid to show her face.
“I still feel like, ‘Oh my god,’” she said. “Even leaving my house — is this going to happen again? Or is somebody gonna make a comment? Or is this how people feel when they look at me?"
In Washington state, certain hate crimes can lead to a felony sentence.
That includes up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
According to the FBI, more than half of the hate crimes in Washington state in 2018 involved racial and ethnic attacks.
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