Mateen was killed in a shootout with police.
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St. Lucie Sheriff Department responded to the fire at 12:31 AM.
The mosque was set on fire on the first day of Eid al-Adha, the four-day Islamic festival of sacrifice.
“Evidence has revealed that this fire was set intentionally”, he said. He rarely attended prayers before killing almost 49 people in Orlando last June.
Despite this, an 80-page report titled “Confronting Fear” by the University of California, Berkeley’s Islamophobia Research and Documentation Project (IRDP) found that 78 incidents targeted mosques in 2015, the highest number since 2009 when the record-keeping began.
Police say the arsonist arrived at the site on a Harley Davidson-style motorcycle and may have suffered burns to his hands.
Thompson said the attacker was caught on security cameras: “Immediately after the individual approached, a flash occurred and the individual fled the area”. A few seconds after the flash, a man is seen running from the scene. He left on a motorcycle with a low seat and high handlebars.
Asked if he believes this was a hate crime, Thompson said the fact that the arsonist struck on the same day that the nation marked the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks does raise flags.
The attack also occurred on the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, for which the center had been preparing to receive worshipers.
“This is a terrible tragedy”, Thompson told ABC News, “not only for the Islamic Center, but also for our community”.
Mateen killed 49 people at an Orlando gay nightclub on June 12, in an act of bigotry and revenge. His father attends the mosque. Then people driving by splashed water on people leaving Friday services.
“Members of the mosque are very concerned, for not only their well-being but the well-being of the community”, Thompson said.
The place of worship was formerly attended by Omar Mateen, the man responsible for the Pulse nightclub attack. The massacre, a hate crime, remains the worst terror attack since 9/11, and the deadliest mass shooting in modern history.
The officials said they soon plan to release the video in hopes that someone might recognize the individual seen near the mosque.
Not including this attack, ThinkProgress has found at least 103 other anti-Islam incidents across the United States since the attacks in Paris in November of a year ago, including 39 protests or attacks on houses of worship.
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The mosque that Orlando nightclub gunman Omar Mateen attended was heavily damaged in an arson fire that Muslim leaders said was the latest incident in an escalating campaign of harassment and violence against the house of worship and its members. The flames were extinguished by 5 a.m., authorities say. The cause is under investigation, fire officials said.
