Surveillance video shows vandal smashing glass door of Minneapolis mosque

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Someone damaged a mosque in Minneapolis Sunday, and the leaders of the local chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations want police to investigate the vandalism as a possible hate crime. 

Surveillance video at the Masjid Salaam Cultural Center on the 3100 block of Central Avenue Northeast in the Audubon Park neighborhood shows a person smashing a glass door in the mosque. Someone was at the mosque at the time of the break-in, but CAIR-Minnesota Executive Director Jaylani Hussein told FOX 9 the suspect did not speak to that person. 

CAIR-Minnesota said it wants state and federal law enforcement authorities to investigate a possible bias motive behind the vandalism. The organization reported the incident to the FBI and the Minneapolis Police Department. 

“Given the rise in anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant and white supremacist rhetoric and hate incidents in Minnesota and nationwide, we urge law enforcement authorities to investigate a possible bias motive for this attack,” Hussein said. 

Mosque leaders say they will meet to decide whether they will need to hire a security guard in hopes of preventing encounters like this in the future.