Early Tuesday, a hooded man walked up to the North Austin Muslim Community Center with a gasoline can and began to douse the building, according to Austin fire officials.
He approached around 12:38 a.m. when no one was at the mosque, and tried to light pieces of paper to set the building ablaze.
“He poured a lot of gasoline,” Austin Fire Department arson investigator Andy Reardon said Wednesday.
Reardon, who is leading the investigation into the incident — with assistance from Austin police and federal investigators with the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — vowed to catch and prosecute the would-be arsonist.
The attempted arson is the latest apparent attack on the mosque and its community members
since a string of vandalism incidents last year.
• On Sept. 2, the glass doors at the facility’s entrance were found shattered. Someone had broken windows and slashed tires on vehicles in the mosque’s parking lot.
• On Sept. 13, more tires were slashed at the mosque, including those of a van and security guard’s vehicle.
• Then on Sept. 17, the New Medina Market, a nearby store specializing in Middle Eastern foods, had its glass doors shattered.
Police released surveillance footage showing a
person of interest whom they believed was behind the incidents, but no arrests were ever made.
[....]
Surveillance cameras also captured footage of the arsonist in Tuesday’s incident. He was wearing a blue Nike hoodie, and blue jeans, and may have arrived in a light-colored Ford F-150 pickup.
Officials said they are still in the early stages of the investigation, and couldn’t say whether they believe the same person could have been behind all of the cases. However, many people at the center think it was.
[....]
Austin police officers have been at the center patrolling prayer times since Tuesday, and have increased patrols at night as well, Suleiman said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 512-472-8477.
You must be logged in to see or use the Shoutbox. Besides, if you haven't registered, you really should. It's quick and it will make your life a little better. Trust me. So just register and make yourself at home with like-minded individuals who share either your morbid curiousity or sense of gallows humor.
Ontario Resident Who Wants Both a Vagina and Penis Wins Public Funding for Unique Surgery
