Krishna temple in Utah attacked thrice with guns in June in alleged hate crime

India Today

2 days ago

A Hindu temple in Utah has been repeatedly shot at over several nights in June. A total of around 20–30 gunshots were fired at the Shri Shri Radha Krishna Temple in Utah's city of Spanish Fork. The attack over the last weekend of June was the third on the temple that month, which its management claims to be a hate crime.advertisementThe Utah County Sheriff's office has termed these attacks "acts of vandalism". The ISKCON temple authorities have called the attacks a "hate crime"."Over the weekend, our office was made aware of several acts of vandalism directed towards the Krishna Temple that is located off of 8500 South here in Utah County. UCSO Deputies responded to the Temple and recovered various items of evidence, including casings from the rounds fired at the Temple," it said in a statement released along with pictures of the shooting on Instagram.
The President of the temple, Vai Warden, said the attacks could have been an outcome of "hate"."We believe this was based on hate," Vai Warden, the president of the temple said.The two-decade-old temple is located on top of a hill in Spanish Fork.AROUND 20-30 GUNSHOT FIRED WITH DISCIPLES INSIDEadvertisementThe co-founder of the temple, Vaibhavi Devi, said that over the past several days, 20–30 bullets were fired at the temple building and the surrounding property.The incidents occurred during nighttime hours while devotees and guests were present inside, and have caused thousands of dollars in structural damage, including to the temple's hand-carved arches, Vaibhavi Devi Dasi said in a statement issued on Monday, June 30.The videos and photos show bullet holes in the temple's walls. The casings of the rounds were also discovered outside the Shri Shri Radha Krishna Temple, reported Fox13, the Utah arm of the Fox News network."A lot of people from different religions come here. It's a sanctuary, a community sanctuary," said Vai Warden, the president of the temple.Warden is now working to make the temple a place of peace again."We want to find out who did this and prevent this from happening again," she was quoted as saying by Fox13."We've gone on well over these last decades with no trouble, and now suddenly, whether it's religious or politically motivated, we don't know," Warden shared with Fox 13, the Utah outlet of Fox News.CAR DROVE TO THE TEMPLE THEN GUNSHOTS FIREDThe temple was built over two decades ago in the early 90s. The 10,000-square-foottemple sits on a 15-acre campus with peacocks, llamas and cows in the temple area, the report added.advertisementThe past month has been difficult for the temple.According to Warden, the temple has been shot three different times this month, with bullet holes going through an arch, exterior walls and a window.The security video shows a car driving up to the temple's front gate and someone shooting at the building.The sheriff's office Investigations Division is investigating the evidence found at the temple and is asking anyone with information on vandalism to contact them.A $1,000 reward has been announced for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.- Ends