Police are investigating hate messages that were found spray-painted on the outside of a mosque (Masjid) in the Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota metropolitan area.
Officers were dispatched to the Moorhead Fargo Islamic Community Center, which is located in Moorhead, about 5:20 a.m. Sunday. Police said the graffiti was found in several areas on and around the building.
Video surveillance from the building captured images of a suspect wearing a camouflage jacket and dark ski mask.
The two cities are “sharing overwhelming support” for the Islamic congregation, officials said in a release.
“Hate will not have a home in Moorhead,” said Shelly Carlson, Moorhead mayor. “The words and symbols defacing the Islamic Center are horrifying to view, but we must view them to bear witness and understand the magnitude and depth of how these hate-filled words impact those in our community.”
The investigation by Moorhead police and Fargo office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is ongoing, authorities said.
US police investigating Islamophobia messages at Moorhead Masjid
Police are investigating hate messages that were found spray-painted on the outside of a mosque (Masjid) in the Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota metropolitan area.
Officers were dispatched to the Moorhead Fargo Islamic Community Center, which is located in Moorhead, about 5:20 a.m. Sunday. Police said the graffiti was found in several areas on and around the building.
Video surveillance from the building captured images of a suspect wearing a camouflage jacket and dark ski mask.
The two cities are “sharing overwhelming support” for the Islamic congregation, officials said in a release.
“Hate will not have a home in Moorhead,” said Shelly Carlson, Moorhead mayor. “The words and symbols defacing the Islamic Center are horrifying to view, but we must view them to bear witness and understand the magnitude and depth of how these hate-filled words impact those in our community.”
The investigation by Moorhead police and Fargo office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is ongoing, authorities said.
