A black consignment shop owner in Redmond, Wash., was shocked to discover a Ku Klux Klan robe in a bag of clothes from a customer. Authorities there are now searching for the suspect, described as a white man in his mid-20s, the Seattle Times reports.
Leona Coakley-Spring, the owner of Rags to Riches, said that the man sold her the bag of clothes Wednesday in what was at first a “nice and normal” interaction. But he began to act suspicious before fleeing the store.
The shop owner was surprised to discover what at first she thought was a priest robe.
“Then I saw the hood, and the hood had two eyes cut out, and then it came to me: He’s from a hate group, and he wanted me to open that bag in front of him,” she said.
Coakley-Spring, 66, told the Seattle Times that she couldn’t sleep that night. “This is just so horrific, it makes me walk around all paranoid,” she added.
Redmond police said that a loose rope was in the bag along with the robe, which has two patches resembling the blood-drop symbol associated with the KKK.
“We don’t know exactly what’s happening,” said police spokeswoman Becky Range. “What we really want to do is interview this man.”
Authorities are asking anyone with information to call 425-556-2669 or email nldamico@redmond.gov.
Read more at the Seattle Times.