A Hindu temple in Newark, California, was vandalized overnight, CBS News reports.
The vandalism was discovered around 8:30 a.m. on Friday. According to The San Francisco Chronicle, the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Hindu Temple had graffiti on the side of its building and on the temple sign.
Newark police believe that the vandalism was targeted and is potentially a hate crime. According to CBS News, the graffiti contained a Sikh nationalist message. It comes amidst a U.S. federal investigation into the attempted murder of a prominent Sikh American activist by an Indian official.
“Whatever happened yesterday, last night, was clearly an act of vandalism and violence against the Hindu community,” Chintan Pandya told CBS News.
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