SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. -- Several families in Western Washington are looking for answers after their loved ones' tombstones were vandalized at a Muslim cemetery in Snohomish County.
The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office learned of the crime on Thursday after family members called to say that the Islamic Cemetery of the Bosniaks had nearly a dozen grave sites smashed in half.
"This is not acceptable by any standards," Meliha Babic said. "This is not how civilized people are supposed to treat each other."
Babic's uncle had his tombstone broke in half, just three months after her entire family pitched in money to place that above his final resting place. Babic believes that this is not your everyday crime.
"This is not a property crime. This is a hate crime," Babic said. "It's unbelievable that in Washington state, in Seattle, in the United States of America, that there are crimes like this."
"It breaks our heart because we love this community, we are members of this community, we thought we were embraced by all of our neighbors," Babic said.
The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office says there is no evidence of a hate crime. They believe this was an act of vandalism and don't yet have a suspect description.
"It's nothing I expected to ever see or feel in America," Babic said. "This (my uncle's tombstone) was done in good faith, and it breaks my heart to see that it's broken now. It's unacceptable."
Anyone with information on what happened should contact the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office.
