A man with a sledgehammer broke 9 windows at Seattle’s Wing Luke Museum, a showcase for Asian American and Pacific Islander history, reports Raw Story.
The incident happened with stunned patrons there for an after-hours tour inside.
“The Wing Luke Museum is concerned about its staff and community, and that’s its focus right now,” museum spokesperson Steve McLean said to the Seattle Times. “Obviously we’re a resilient community, and you’ll see that on display in the weeks to come.”
The Seattle Times reports that local community leaders suspect the perpetrator acted out of racial hatred.
“It got louder and it was shaking the floor, and we could hear crashing glass,” Stanley Shikuma of the Japanese American Citizens League who was inside during the attack said. “I think some people’s minds were racing to, ‘Is this a bomb?’”
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Northwest Asian Weekly reports bail has been set at $30,000 for the man arrested, 76-year-old Craig Milne. The paper quoting public documents said Milne told police that “the Chinese ruined my life.”
Shikuma told the paper that dispatchers initially told the museum police would not respond to the museum’s 911 call.
“The Wing Luke staff are quite traumatized by the attack on their building and quite upset that 911 said they WILL NOT RESPOND!, he wrote in an email to community members. “This is outrageous and unacceptable—that a major community institution is attacked and vandalized… and Seattle Police basically said they can’t be bothered!”
Police pointed to the arrest and said any questions about its response should be directed to the Community Safety and Communications Center (CSCC), according to NW Asian Weekly.
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell who is both Japanese American and African American described himself as “appalled” in a post he sent out on X.
KUOW reports wooden boards have been placed to cover the broken windows. The museum is temporarily closed but vowed to resume normal operating hours this weekend.
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