A person of interest has been detained in the investigation of a suspected arson fire at a Southern California mosque, authorities said.
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The FBI’s Los Angeles branch was investigating the fire, officials said. The paper, citing jail records and anonymous law enforcement sources, identified the man as Carl Dial.
Dial was taken into custody Friday night.
The Sheriff’s Department “believes this is an intentional act and we are using all available resources to follow up on any leads that are brought to our attention”, Deputy Armando Munoz, a department spokesman, said in a statement Friday evening.
News Channel 3 and CBS Local 2 is on scene and there was a group of Muslims gathered in front of the mosque in prayer shortly after the fire was contained. Smoke damage was reported throughout the mosque, with firefighters checking for other damage. Its cause is under investigation.
There were no reports of injuries, but the acting imam of the mosque said that because it is a family center, he is very anxious. He said the mosque had been fire-bombed.
The mosque is about 75 miles from San Bernardino, where last week a couple that federal officials say was inspired by Islamist extremists killed 14 people. No one was hurt in the early morning incident.
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Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) offices in Washington, D.C. and Santa Clara were evacuated on Thursday after they received an envelope filled with suspicious white powder. A caretaker at a Philadelphia mosque found a pig’s head on the doorstep of the building earlier this week, also sparking a police investigation. The Sikh community is sometimes targeted in anti-Islamic attacks because people mistake members’ dress and grooming for that of Muslims.
