MANKATO, Minn. — Drive by the Mankato Islamic Center's parking lot, and something might catch your eye.
"This is because somebody committed a crime that is really abhorrent in any culture or faith," Abi Sabri said. "It's not because we want to display those words in our center."
Sabri is talking about the white Toyota Camry that now bears several words that are derogatory towards women. It's been spray-painted in a maroon shade.
Sabri is one of the co-founders and board members of the Islamic Center there. He said they found the car like that Saturday morning. He added the car belonged to one of the community members who had asked to park his car there while he figured out his finances to fix it up.
The center's surveillance cameras captured two individuals spray painting the car.
"We are close to downtown so people go to bars and drink and that's about the time that this incident happened," Sabri said. "So sometimes you have to assume the best, and we're thinking-- people were not in a sound mind who committed this."
However, Sabri said he can't help but feel uneasy about whether it was targeted because it was parked at the Islamic Center's parking lot.
"There were other cars on the street, so they came here-- and chose-- so we're never sure the intent was purely vandalism," he said. "So that we'd rather be on the safe side-- we would have addressed it either way, but it gives us pause."
Sabri said otherwise, he knows that the neighborhood is tightly knit, so he's hoping someone who might be able to recognize the two individuals would say something to police.
Mankato Police said they are currently not investigating this as a hate crime as they found at least eight other properties/buildings that had been spray-painted around the same time.
In a release they said:
"Mankato-Two suspects are being sought in connection with at least nine criminal damage to property/graffiti incidents that occurred July 30 and 31 between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. in a four to five block area in downtown Mankato including:
- 100 block of North 4th Street
- 300 block East of Mulberry Street
- 300 and 400 blocks of North Broad Street
- 300 block of Plum Street
- 400 block of North Fifth Street
Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or 507-387-8725."