Redmond Mayor John Marchione issued a statement Wednesday encouraging residents who believe they are victims of potential hate crimes to report such incidents to police.
Marchione's remarks followed a Muslim woman reporting that she found a threatening note on her car while it was parked outside the Bella Bottega Starbucks on Monday afternoon, as King 5 reported Tuesday.
“The City of Redmond does not welcome or tolerate this kind of hateful behavior, and I encourage residents to contact the police department if they experience or witness it,” Marchione said in a news release. “Our community is strengthened by the diversity of those who live and work in Redmond, and our city continues to reach out to our various faith communities to help prevent such incidents in the future.”
spokesman Jim Bove confirmed Tuesday that the department is investigating the matter but said it will be tough to find whoever left the note because multiple people had touched it before it was turned in to police.
"There's not really a lot we have to go on," he said.
The woman reportedly found the note at about 4 p.m. Monday as she and her daughter were walking out of the coffee shop. The note said "We don't Muslims in America" (sic) in English and also "We don't want Muslims in America. Go away." in Arabic.
Bove said the department has received two other reports of discriminatory notes like this one in the past two years. The most recent incident occurred in January and also targeted a Muslim individual, he said.
Editor's note: A previous version of this story contained incorrect information regarding the frequency that the Redmond Police Department receives reports of threatening notes. The information has since been revised.
