Last week, a Sikh American family in Albuquerque, New Mexico awoke to find their vehicle had been defaced in an act of racist vandalism.

Mr. and Mrs. Singh, who have asked to maintain their anonymity, awoke in the morning to find their car vandalized with an extremely offensive picture of male genitalia and the statement, “(explicative removed) Alah!”

Additionally, in a phone conversation with SALDEF, the family feels they have been victim to at least two previous bias crimes. Both of the previous incidents involved a single white male between the age of 20 and 30 shouting at the couple and in one case involved an alleged physical attack with the man throwing stones at Mr. Singh.

A formal complaint has been filed with the Albuquerque Police Department; however, the investigation is still ongoing. SALDEF has engaged in direct communication with these authorities to ensure that there is an increase in patrols in the area and that the hate crime investigation continues. [SALDEF Advisory]