Muslim Prayer Rugs Defaced at UCLA Chapel
Muslim prayer rugs splattered with a red liquid and a jar labeled “pig blood” were found at the UCLA Medical Center chapel, authorities said Thursday.
Muslims do not eat pork.
“We’re calling it a hate crime,” said Nancy Greenstein, a spokeswoman for the UCLA Police Department. “It was in the chapel. It was prayer rugs, and it was pork blood.”
Tests were being conducted on the liquid found Saturday, Greenstein said. But regardless of the results, “It’s more the message,” she said.
The medical center’s chapel is a sanctuary where people of various religions come to pray.
The university’s Police Department is working with the FBI and the Los Angeles County district attorney’s Hate Crimes Unit. Among other things, they are reviewing the hospital’s surveillance tapes, Greenstein said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
