SHORELINE — When Jim Rundgren came in to work at Tree House Yoga, at 18021 15th Avenue NE on Saturday, June 21, he was met with a rude surprise.
Someone had spray-painted graffiti on the yoga studio sign and on the front and back doors, in the form of a symbol: a circle with a cross and “s” in the middle.
“My first thought was that it looked like vandalism, but then it looked like it was more like leaving a mark like a curse or something,” Rundgren said.
“It made us feel sad, and intruded upon, like after a burglary, unclean,” said Patricia McKinnon, who runs the yoga studio with Rundgren.
Two other businesses in North City were also marked with the spray-painted symbol, Siddha Yoga Meditation Center and Shizendo Martial Arts Academy.
“Because they targeted three places that deal with Yoga, I felt it could be a hate crime,” Rundgren said.
Shizendo Martial Arts Academy owner Denise Geroux said it crossed her mind that it might be a hate crime, or it could just be some obnoxious kids.
“I don’t know if it has any kind of meaning but it made me feel kind of vulnerable, like someone doesn’t like us,” she said.
Police said a real estate sign, a port-a-potty and a dumpster were also marked with the graffiti that night.
“The officer that took the report didn’t have any idea of what the symbol meant,” said Capt. Clem Rusk with the Shoreline Police. “We have a criminal intelligence unit that keeps track of the different gang tags, and I don’t know if this is one of those or not.
“We don’t have enough information at this time to conclude that it’s a hate crime, but we are absolutely positive it’s vandalism, and we can investigate it as vandalism.”
Depending on how much damage is done, vandalism can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony, Rusk said.
“At this time, we don’t have any information that it’s more to it than that,” he said.
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