Mosque vandalized, more than $50K in losses and damages
By Jennifer Mayerle
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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A burglar was caught on camera, smashing his way through a Minneapolis mosque. The path of destruction will cost thousands of dollars to repair, but some of the damage isn’t as easily fixed.
Broken glass, damaged doors and bent donation boxes. That’s what members of Tawfiq Islamic Center in Minneapolis found following a break-in late Sunday night.
“He came and attacked our place of worship,” a trustee said.
The person behind the burglary was caught on camera after camera.
“And he began to destroy almost every single door he could find. He destroyed the offices. He vandalized the property,” Jaylani Hussein, executive director of CAIR-MN, said.
Cameras captured the point of entry, prying open a back door. Then he made his way through the gym, forced his way through the next door, spending about 40 minutes inside the mosque.
The video captures person walking through hallways. You see him kick doors and take money from donation boxes located around the mosque. The estimated loss of is roughly $50,000. They say they can repair what was damaged.
“However our sense of safety, and the impact it will have, is a long-term impact on our community,” the trustee said.
The community expressed concern, leading to a visit from the city’s top cop. They report this is the fourth significant incident at a Minnesota mosque since the start of the year.
“Although many of the motives are different, the result is all the same, which it leaves communities damaged, lose their sense of safety, terrorized,” Abdulahi Farah with Muslim Coalition said.
Police say preliminary information suggests the motive was theft. Because it happened at a mosque, it will work to find out if the action was motivated by hate or bias.
Contact CrimeStoppers or police if you recognize him. The community is offering a $6,000 reward for information.
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