Authorities in Nevada say a business was spray painted with graffiti in what is now being investigated as a hate crime.
The Nye County Sheriff's office said Monday that it was discovered Sunday afternoon in front of a shop in Pahrump.
The business was spray painted with derogatory words against the owner's religion.
The owner, Vic Ahmed, is an Indian Muslim that moved to the U.S. more than 30 years ago.
"They say stuff like this to me and it makes my blood boil because I am none of those things," Ahmed said.
No suspects have been identified but they could face charges for malicious destruction of property.
"I hate to think that kind of thing is going on in Nye County and we're going to do everything we possibly can to stop it, if it does," said Nye County Sheriff Sharon Wehrly.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the vandalism and said the Muslim business owner and his family have been targeted for more than a month.
Ahmed said he received harassing phone calls about his race and religion about a month ago. He did file a restraining order against that caller, but it has since expired.
"I'm disappointed at humanity in general," Ahmed said.
The Nye County Sheriff's Office has a team of 5 investigators looking into the potential hate crime. If they find it to be a hate crime, they will turn the investigation over to the FBI.
"Be more tolerant. The world's a big place and there's enough room for everybody," Ahmed said.
