TACOMA — Police are investigating after a nun was assaulted at a Theravada Buddhist temple last week in Tacoma. The attack sent the woman to the hospital with injuries to her ribs and head.
One woman has been arrested in connection with the assault on 67-year-old Ngunuon Huon at Khmer Theravadin Buddhist Temple, police said. She has since been released from custody.
A man who came to the nun’s aid during the assault, Victor Tang, 80, also received minor injuries. He said he is having trouble sleeping at night due to anxiety from the attack. The nun was released from the hospital the morning after the attack and is recovering. On Monday, she said it still hurt her ribs to breathe.
Connar Mon, a 16-year-old who said he grew up going to the temple, said he still goes to the temple frequently and speaks with the elders.
“I was heartbroken and furious when they told me about this attack on the Asian community in Tacoma,” Mon said in an email.
Temple leaders said this is the latest in a string of incidents by the same people damaging and stealing from the Buddhist temple for several months.
Chea Poeuv, president and head monk of the temple, spoke with The News Tribune on Monday through a interpreter. Poeuv said two people have been squatting in rooms in the basement of the temple.
On Monday, the person who was arrested for attacking the nun was back squatting in the basement. She was filling up a jug of water as temple leaders walked a reporter from The News Tribune through the building.
Poeuv said the squatters frequently bring other people to the temple to smoke and consume drugs. He accused them of breaking windows and doors, stealing equipment from the temple’s storage and at one point stealing a moving truck from the temple.
Poeuv said he wants help from the city to evict the squatters. He said the temple is for everyone, but he can’t have people staying there indefinitely.
Last week, conflicts between temple leaders and the squatters escalated after the squatters allegedly cut through a gate outside. Huon confronted them and was attacked.
Assault at Khmer Theravadin Buddhist Temple
Tacoma police were called just before midnight Sept. 21 to 1420 E. 44th St., spokesperson Wendy Haddow said.
Haddow said two people who “rent rooms on the bottom floor of the temple” told police they left the grounds that night to do laundry, and, when they returned, the gates to the temple were locked. Haddow said someone tried to cut the lock to reenter the property, and that’s when Huon went to stop them and was assaulted.
Poeuv recorded video of the assault, which shows a confusing and chaotic scene.
Four people can be seen fighting inside the gates of the temple. One person appears to be held to the ground, who Poeuv identified as Huon. She can be seen kicking at the legs of another person in a black shirt standing nearby. Meanwhile, the person who came to help, Tang, is pulled to the ground by the person in the black shirt.
Nearby, a fifth person can be seen pushing on the gate from the street. Yelling is heard throughout the video, but it’s unclear who it is coming from.
“Get the (expletive) out of Tacoma, bro,” someone yells in the video.
Huon was choked and punched in the head during the assault, she told The News Tribune on Monday through a interpreter. She said a man threatened to hit her with the heavy-duty wire cutters the squatters used to cut through the fence.
A 53-year-old woman was arrested for investigation of aggravated assault, Haddow said. She said a male suspect left the scene before police arrived.
Police are continuing to investigate, Haddow said.
‘They have to be legally evicted’
Poeuv said he sometimes calls police two or three times a night because of issues with the squatters, but he said police can’t help. In a letter sent to the temple from Tacoma Police Department, an officer recommended leaders seek legal advice from a landlord-tenant attorney.
“The problem we’re running into is that, according to the state, once the tenants has legal residency there, they have to be legally evicted,” the letter from TPD officer Peter Taing reads. “Also they can have their friends come and go, since there considered guests.”
Hoeurn Mon, assistant head monk, said the attack came during the Hungry Ghost Festival, a 15-day long Buddhist holiday that celebrates ancestors. Mon, 59, said the squatters have not respected the temple or the Buddhist religion.
Temple leaders are asking for donations to help pay for repairs at the temple and increased security measures. People can also donate water and hygiene products. Donations are accepted in-person at the temple.
