Local police and the FBI are investigating an incident in which a bullet-riddled Qur’an was left at the door of an Islamic clothing store in a predominantly Arab community in Anaheim, California, Tuesday morning.
Terry Cormier, the 36-year-old owner of the store, Al Farah, found the defaced Qur’an wedged between the door and door handle when she opened the store at around 9 a.m.
"It was pretty clear and obvious what the intention was there," she said to BuzzFeed News. "I think whoever did it, I believe that they’re fearful or unknowledgeable about Islam. By defiling a book that is important to us, they were showing their hatred of something they don’t understand."
Cormier immediately reported the incident to Muslim advocacy group Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Anaheim Police Department.
"We are investigating this as a hate incident," said Anaheim Police Department spokesperson Daron Wyatt. "We care about all of our populations and we're going to investigate this fully."
The police department is working with the Orange County district attorney to investigate the incident for possible hate crime charges.
The book is undergoing forensic processing for evidence. Investigators are looking for surveillance video that may have captured the incident and are canvassing the area for potential witnesses.
Al Farah's window was shattered in August by an unidentified person. Police are investigating whether it is related to Wednesday's incident.
Tuesday's incident comes as the Council on American-Islamic Relations reports a spike in anti-Muslim discrimination and hate crimes in the wake of the Paris terror attacks, said the organization's Los Angeles executive director Hussam Ayloush.
The organization has recorded roughly 23 incidents where individuals and mosques have been bullied, threatened, or attacked since the Paris violence on Nov. 13.
Ayloush said in a statement that he understands that "anyone has a right to be a bigot" under the country's freedom of expression laws, but he said this incident crossed the line into harassment.
"If you shoot up a Qur’an on your own property, that is bigoted freedom of expression," he said. "If you deliver that bullet-riddled Quran to a Muslim home or business, that is an act of intimidation and a hate crime."
Cormier said she was saddened when she first found the Qur’an on the door.
"I think having grown up in Southern California with all the diversity we have here, I expected more of people," she said. "More respect of each other’s differences."
Police are asking anyone with information on this incident to call Crime Stoppers at 1 (855) TIP-OCCS or send an anonymous tip to www.occrimestoppers.org.