One day after someone started a fire in a bathroom of a south Minneapolis mosque, another fire was set on the third floor of a different mosque less than a mile away.
Dozens of Muslim community leaders and imams condemned the alleged attacks at a Tuesday news conference at the Masjid Al Rahma mosque, the site of the second mosque fire. Several raised concerns that the alleged anti-Muslim attack Monday could have been more tragic, given that about 50 day care children and 50 worshipers were inside.
"When these attacks happen, it's to our children, and that's what makes it even more disturbing and personal for me," said Nimco Ahmed, president of the Somali American Coalition Action Fund, as she held her 3-year-old daughter. "It's very sad because this state that we call home is so precious to us."
About 6:30 p.m. Monday, security guard Bahikoro Kouyate said he noticed smoke and fire coming from a third floor hallway at the Mercy Islamic Center, which contains the mosque in the 2600 block of Bloomington Avenue. The building was evacuated, including the day care in the basement. He said it was fortunate a fire station was directly across the street.
"Thank God the fire (department) was here," Kouyate said.
The flames were fully extinguished by 7:30 p.m., the Minneapolis Fire Department said. Early estimates indicate the damages could be $50,000, community leaders said.
Minneapolis police responded Sunday about 7 p.m. to the fire at the Masjid Omar Islamic Center, in the 24 Somali Mall in the Ventura Village neighborhood. The suspect, described as a white man, entered the building with a red gas canister filled with flammable liquid before lighting a fire in the bathroom, according to a news release from the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
Worshippers used a fire extinguisher to put out the fire, CAIR said.
