Incident at Hoke County Mosque ‘Possible Hate Crime’
CAIR, an advocacy organization for Muslim civil rights, is now asking for an investigation into a possible hate crime and additional law enforcement patrols in the area of the Masjid Al Madina mosque.
Ibrahim Hooper, the Communications Director for CAIR, said he was contacted by the imam who was concerned about an incident that happened around 4:30 Thursday afternoon.
According to Hooper, a man allegedly approached a Muslim chaplain at Fort Bragg, showed him a gun, and threatened to blow up the mosque.
Hooper also reports the man "attempted to run over a group of people entering the mosque for the Ramadan evening prayer.”
He also said the man left bacon near the front of the building.
"We call on state law enforcement authorities and the FBI to investigate this incident as a possible hate crime. We also ask local police to step up patrols in the area of this and other North Carolina mosques, particularly during the nightly activities associated with the ongoing fast of Ramadan,” he said.
There were no reports of physical injuries and Hooper said a suspect was taken into custody.
The Hoke County Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation.
Source: WNCN
