SALT LAKE CITY — This past week, an intruder broke into an Asian-owned business in downtown Salt Lake City and spray painted racist profanity on the wall.
Officials reported the damage caused by the incident was around $15,000, a major setback for a small Utah business.
"Hate has no place here in Salt Lake City. We want everyone who lives, works and visits Salt Lake City to feel welcome, to feel safe, and feel like they’re a part of our community," said SLCPD Sgt. Mark Wian.
The lights are off inside Watercreek Nails Spa, and they will be for quite some time.
“At first when I received the police call, we just thought it was a burglary. Coming in to see those words on the wall has completely changed the story,” said Sabrina Nguyen.
For 10 years, the smell of nail polish and the wave of the Maneki Neko, the lucky cat, has been a welcoming sight for Nguyen.
Her mother left Vietnam when she was six and opened her business at 600 South and 300 West in 2023.
Early Thursday morning, a man smashed through their front door and ripped out the wifi security system so nothing could be caught on camera.
Police reported a community member witnessed the burglary happening at 2:47 a.m.
“The ground was actually filled with glass everywhere, water everywhere,” she said.
He spray-painted the shelves and the spa chairs, and wrote “f--- China” in giant letters on the wall. He destroyed the foot baths and ripped out the sinks, flooding the floor and the business next door.
"My family's actually Vietnamese. But that being said, I don’t think anyone of any sort of race, religion, or sexual orientation should ever experience anything like this," Nguyen said. "It’s very scary, and I feel like we’ve almost been watched... It’s dehumanizing."
Nguyen said the electrical work in the chairs was ruined because of the water, and the chairs now have to be replaced. They cost between about $5,000-6,000 each.
Just replacing the damages alone will be a great undertaking, but having to shut down right before the holidays during their busiest time of year is another loss.
Customers have stopped by to help them clean up. The community’s kind words are what’s getting them through.
They think it’ll be a few months before they can replace everything and re-open again.
“It’s a place of love and it’s still a place of love. It just needs some TLC,” said Nguyen.
In an update Monday morning, Salt Lake City Police said they are searching for three suspects in connection to the incident. One man who entered the salon and caused the damage, as well as two other men who left the area together.
As the description of the men is not specific, police did not release any photos of them.
"Due to the hate-speech used in furtherance of the burglary and criminal mischief, this case is being investigated as a hate crime," officials reported.
Nguyen said a witness saw what happened and said the intruder was a man experiencing homelessness. She said no arrests have been made.
Anyone with information on this case is being asked to contact detectives at 801-799-3000 and reference case 23-274253. SLCPD specifically asked anyone nearby with doorbell or security camera footage to check around 2-3 a.m. Thursday morning. If they spot anything, they're asked to send the video to the department.
