The FBI is investigating recent vandalism at a northwestern Indiana mosque as a possible hate crime

Last week, Muslim-American leaders of the Michigan City Islamic Center called the $8,600 damage to their mosque, which serves about 150 families, a “systematic hate crime.”

“We take these cases very seriously,” said Wendy Osborne, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Indianapolis.

On July 2, Porter County police received a report of bullets shot into the center’s copper dome, leaving six holes. Also, two glass doors, 10 windows and a spotlight were vandalized, possibly by a BB gun, according to a police report.

The center’s groundskeeper told police a sign also had a swastika carved into it, but an officer said he could not make out the symbol through the scratch marks. The letters “KKK” are clearly yet crudely scratched into the sign. [Link]