SEATTLE — New details about the man accused of vandalizing Seattle’s Wing Luke Museum.
The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office says this is not the first hate crime 76-year-old Craig Milne has been arrested for.
Milne was scheduled to face a judge for his arraignment hearing on Monday morning, but it was postponed at the last minute.
As KIRO 7′s Briseida Holguin was leaving court, she met Stanley Shikuma, who was in the museum when the attack happened. He said he’s been following the case because of Milne’s history.
“I was inside when it happened… Ready to take a tour when we started hearing a loud banging noise. At first, we thought it was construction next door or something but then it kept getting louder and it actually started shaking the seats,” said Shikuma.
Shikuma says Sept. 14 is a day he will never forget.
Milne was caught on camera shattering the windows of the Wing Luke Museum with a sledgehammer, Stanley says he was yelling racial slurs.
He says several people called 911, but it took Seattle Police 52 minutes to respond.
“Word came that the dispatcher was saying broken windows are vandalism, we don’t answer vandalism calls, and eventually they told us to stop calling,” said Shikuma.
The State Department of Commerce and the City of Seattle have contributed $100,000 to help repair the museum.
“It’s not good that it takes something like this for the city to step up with resources,” said Shikuma.
According to court documents, in 2013 Milne was arrested for allegedly punching an Asian man in a gym locker room and shouting the same racial slurs. The case was dismissed for unknown circumstances in 2015.
“We feel like the community is under attack and it has been for years now, since COVID pretty much… He’s one person with bad ideas running around out there and I don’t believe that he’s the only one,” said Shikuma.
Milne is being held on a $30,000 bail and is facing hate crime and malicious mischief charges.
©2023 Cox Media Group
