The Florida mosque where Orlando nightclub shooter Omar Mateen worshipped was targeted in an arson attack early, authorities said on Monday (Sep 12), without ruling out the possibility of a hate crime.
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They have surveillance video showing a person driving up in a vehicle, walking around the mosque, followed by a flash and then fire.
The FBI and other federal agencies are collaborating with the local sheriff’s office in the investigation.
A fire broke out at the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce in Florida shortly after midnight on Monday morning, evidently serious enough for flames to be seen from outside the building.
Mateen committed the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history when he murdered 49 people and wounded 53 at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando before being killed by law enforcement. Sheriff’s officials said they will be releasing the video and asking for the public’s help in identifying the person who set the fire.
Omar Mateen, who was responsible for the mass shooting at the gay nightclub Pulse in June, occasionally visited the Islamic Center to pray with his family.
“We all know the implications of the date and time of year this is”, Thompson said. Thompson said, “I wouldn’t want to speculate whether or not this is related or unrelated”, to September 11th.
Wilfredo Ruiz, spokesman for the center and communications director for the Council on American Islamic Relations in Florida, said they must wait until law enforcement officials determine it no longer is a crime scene to inspect the damage.
The Islamic Center of Fort Pierce stated on its website that, “We strongly condemn all acts of terror and violence”.
Parsons, a gutter installer with the phrase “trust no one” tattooed on his chest, said his mother’s oncologist attends the mosque.
It’s the same mosque the family of the Pulse nightclub shooter is a member of.
“Evidence has revealed that this fire was set intentionally”.
The fire, he said, started about an hour after the last people left the facility after a dinner held to break a voluntary fast.
The Islamic Center expected to welcome over 100 people for the beginning of Eid al-Adha, the four-day Islamic festival of sacrifice. Because of the extra traffic that was anticipated, Thompson said sheriff’s deputies were scheduled to be on hand to assist with parking and traffic flow around the mosque.
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Authorities said at the time they were unable to confirm “any racially motivated comments” were made but the suspect, Taylor Anthony Mazzanti, was arrested and charged with felony battery, according to the newspaper.
