Police: Snohomish County woman threatens Muslim neighbors with gun

MOUNTLAKE TERRACE, Wash. (AP) — Police in Washington state arrested a woman on suspicion of pointing a gun at her neighbors in what authorities classified as a hate crime.

Mountlake Terrace police arrested the woman Monday for investigation of a hate crime and second-degree assault, The Daily Herald reported Tuesday.

Police said she appeared to be having mental health issues. The 67-year-old suspect is white and the neighbors are black and Muslim.

The woman, who was not immediately identified, is accused of pointing a pistol at a 34-year-old mother and her two daughters, both under 15, records said.

Police said the woman told the family to go back to their native country because they don’t belong in the U.S. The mother called police and told officers she and her children feared for their lives.

The woman barricaded herself in her apartment when police arrived. She eventually allowed them to enter and officers said they found at least two guns, including one that matched a description given by her neighbor.

She was held in the Snohomish County Jail with bail set at $20,000.