Hate crime suspected as Bellingham attacker shouts slurs at victim
Police are seeking a person in connection with a hate crime last weekend in downtown Bellingham, where the assailant punched the victim in the face and belittled the victim’s perceived sexual orientation.
Those insults elevated what would have been a misdemeanor assault into a felony, according to Washington state law.
Bellingham Police Lt. Claudia Murphy told The Bellingham Herald that the attack was reported shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 15, in the 100 block of East Holly Street, as patrons began to leave bars at closing time in the area between Cornwall and Railroad avenues.
“(The suspect) yelled several derogatory slurs at (the victim) and made a threat of physical violence,” Murphy said in an email.
“(The suspect) punched (the victim) in the face, knocking (the victim) to the ground” but the person wasn’t seriously hurt, she said.
Murphy said that probable cause exists to arrest the suspect on suspicion of malicious harassment and 4th-degree assault.
Malicious harassment is what Washington state calls a hate crime, which is punishable by five years in prison.
