Latter-day Saint missionary assaulted in alleged hate crime

Officials in the US state of Utah arrested two men who are under the age of 20 for assaulting a black missionary from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, an incident that is being investigated as a possible hate crime.

Members of the Church said the incident, which took place in the small city of Payson on January 28, after the victim and his missionary companion were attacked six people wearing dark hoods, documents released by police show.

The attackers shouted racial slurs at the victim, while his white missionary companion was not targeted during the attack.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) expressed outrage about the incident and requested that every suspect be charged with hate crimes.

“The NAACP is outraged over the hate crime that occurred in Payson between six individuals that targeted a Black Panamanian missionary because of the colour of his skin,” Jeanetta Williams, the president of the organisation’s Tri-State Conference of Idaho, Nevada, and Utah said in a statement. “We are alarmed about the physical assault and destruction of personal property,” she added.

“We are concerned about what happened to two of our missionaries serving in Payson, Utah, in January and are grateful they escaped serious harm,” said Church spokesman Daniel Woodruff.