Sign at Redmond mosque destroyed by vandals, again

REDMOND, Wash. — For the second time in a month, the sign at a Redmond mosque was destroyed.  This time police say the vandal used what looks like a crowbar to damage the sign.

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The vandalism early Saturday morning, at 12:41 a.m., was captured on the surveillance cameras recently installed at the Muslim Association of Puget Sound.

The man parked somewhere else and walked to the sign and struck it nearly a dozen times.  Investigators are talking to other business owners to see if the man's vehicle was caught on camera.  They think it is likely the same vandal is responsible for both incidents.

In November, just before Thanksgiving, the granite sign at the mosque was smashed.

The most recent damage came one week after a ceremony re-installing the sign with local leaders coming together and putting their hand prints around the base of the sign showing support for the Muslim community.

Redmond police detectives are reviewing the surveillance video and hope to release images of the vandal as early as this afternoon.

"We just had that happen and then to have the sign destroyed, it was that immediate shock and sadness that people have this kind of hate in them," said Aneelah Afzali with the Muslim Association of Puget Sound, MAPS. "But we had a tremendous outpouring of support yet again."

Afzali is the executive director of the newly formed American Muslim Empowerment Network at MAPS. She says the American Muslim Empowerment Network, AMEN, will help educate people about Islam, build a coalition with businesses and the public sector, and focus on youth development.

Afzali said the outpouring of support has been incredible.

"The support that we have for the work that we do is unshakable, that's undestroyable," Afzali said. "Nobody can take a crow bar to that."

She said she hopes the man is caught. She also wants to invite him to visit the mosque.

"We actually invite the perpetrator of these acts to come here to meet us, learn about Islam, there's so much unnecessary fear," she said.

Redmond police detectives released the video Monday afternoon. If you recognize the man in the video contact the Redmond Police Department at 425.556.2500

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