Washington: As police investigated an attack on a Hindu temple in Washington State on the eve of the Maha Shivaratri festival, Indian-American groups condemned "the cowardly act" as a "very sad moment" for America.

The vandals who spray-painted a red swastika and scrawled "Get Out" on a wall of the Hindu Temple Cultural Centre in Bothell, 36 km from Seattle, in Washington State Sunday also targeted a nearby school, police said Tuesday. No suspects have been identified in the case, but the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office said red swastikas and warnings for Muslims to "go home" were found Sunday morning painted on Skyview Junior High School, less than a half mile away.