Someone early Monday set fire to the mosque once attended by Omar Mateen, the man who opened fire at an Orlando nightclub in the deadliest mass shooting in modern USA history, authorities said.
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Fire crews responded to a 911 call at 12:31 am reporting that flames were coming out of the Fort Pierce Islamic Center, Major David Thompson of the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office said.
Investigators believe a deliberately set fire at a Florida mosque could be a hate crime, based on the circumstances, but they are still trying to verify that, a law enforcement official said Monday.
Investigators said they have concluded that an accelerant was used to start the fire but they’re not certain what that accelerant was.
The mosque in Fort Pierce, identified as Mateen’s place of worship, has reported threats of violence and intimidation.
“Because this is a place of worship, and … because this incident occurred on the anniversary of September 11, 2001, we are going to explore that, but we are not confident to say that is the case at this time”, he said. Is that related? I wouldn’t want to speculate, but certainly that is in the back of our minds.
Omar Mateen committed the worst mass shooting in modern American history in June when he opened fire in the Pulse nightclub.
The mosque temporarily relocated its morning prayers for Eid al-Adha, also known as the Feast of Sacrifice.
The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office has requested assistance from the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as local and state firefighters. He appeared to be carrying a bottle of lighter fluid and a piece of paper as he entered the property. He also noted that Mateen rarely attended this mosque for worship, although his family did so regularly.
“It is with a very heavy heart that we have to announce that last night around midnight, there was an arson attack on our Mosque”, the Islamic Center said in a statement.
Rahman said the community is bigger and stronger than a building and the attack will bring it together.
According to CBS News, the first team to arrive at the scene reported seeing flames shoot through the roof of the mosque.
The fire came at at the beginning of Eid al-Adha, an important Islamic holiday. Center leaders said if they can rebuild, they will.
On July 2, Taylor Anthony Mazzanti, 25, was accused of attacking a member of the Islamic Center in its parking lot and then yelling at him to “go back to your country”.
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Additionally, the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Florida, along with its national chapter, will offer a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest & conviction of the mosque’s arsonist, according to Wilfredo Ruiz, a spokesman for the Florida Chapter.
