Muslims Targeted in Firebomb Mosque Attacks in NYC (VIDEO)
The New York City Police Department is currently investigating four fire attacks from Sunday night, the majority of which were targeted at Muslim places of worship.
The attacks happened successively on Sunday night in the Queens borough of New York City.
The first attack happened at 8 p.m., when a Molotov cocktail hit a Muslim-run bodega. The Molotov cocktails were comprised of a glass Starbucks bottle stuffed with rags and doused in flammable liquid, presumably gasoline or lighter fluid, according to police.
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The second attack happened at a Queens residence at 8:10 p.m., and is debatably related to the other attacks as the owners of the home are African-American and Christian, according to local news reports. Investigators say it is too early to tell whether a Molotov cocktail was used to set the house on fire.
The house set fire at roughly 8:10 p.m., and by 8:45 p.m. officials had gotten the fire under control, with the house suffering substantial damage.
The third and most aggressive attack happened at 8:30 p.m. when up to three Molotov cocktails were thrown at the Imam Al-Khoei Foundation building, located in Jamaica, Queens. The bottles were thrown while roughly 100 attended a service inside the mosque.
Muslim Mosque FirebombedMaan Alsahlani, the Minister of Religion at the Al-Khoei Foundation, told The Christian Post that although they do not know who the aggressors are, they have provided the NYPD with all surveillance camera footage for investigative purposes.
"We are not afraid of anyone. We are here in NYC and American. We are united, it doesn’t matter our origin," Alsahlani told CP.
"First of all, we are human beings. We have to love each other, we have to respect each other, and live peacefully here in this country," he added.
At 10:14 p.m., two Molotov cocktails were hurled at a home where Hindu services are held, although they did not explode.
New York City’s Gov. Andrew Cuomo condemned the attacks, saying in a statement Monday that the attacks "go against everything we stand for as New Yorkers and Americans," and that they "have no place in our open and inclusive society."
The Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) also condemned the attacks.
"Attacks on our nation's houses of worship must be condemned by all Americans and should be investigated and prosecuted using all available law enforcement resources," saidIbrahim Hooper, the national communications director for CAIR.
No one was injured in the attacks.
