‘Brazen’ vandals hit future site of St. Anthony Islamic youth center multiple times

In late May, vandals broke into a building in St. Anthony that is slated to become a new Islamic-focused youth center and used fire extinguishers to spray the inside of the building and steal expensive computers and other items.

They have come back to the Tibyan Center eight times since, including Tuesday, and have caused more than $20,000 in damage, said Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota Chapter of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim rights and advocacy group.

“These attacks have shaken our community, and many members who were excited about the opportunity the new center represents are now feeling fearful and vulnerable,” Hussein said. “We believe these attacks may be part of a broader effort to intimidate and harm Muslim communities and we call on law enforcement and the community to help in bringing these perpetrators into custody.”

So far, police have not been able to catch the suspects. Hussein said. CAIR is asking law enforcement and the FBI to investigate the series of attacks as hate crimes, and for the public to help identify those involved.

The break-ins started on May 29, shortly after the center announced it was moving into a former Bremer Bank building on the 2400 block of Lowry Avenue NE. The suspects returned on June 15, 27, 29 and 30 and July 2, according to CAIR. Hussein said the incidents have happened both during the day and at night.

On July 7, a Tibyan Center member thwarted an attempted break-in but perpetrators were back on Tuesday and broke windows and caused “significant damage,” Hussein said.

In the latest incident, security cameras caught a group of men, some masked and others unmasked, entering the building, Hussein said. A crew outside mowing the lawn noticed youths with crowbar hanging out near the building, Hussein said. A while later, the building’s surveillance system recorded vandals inside.

“They just keep coming back,” Hussein said in a phone call. “It makes no sense. There is no safe, there is no money in the building. They are brazen. It’s causing a lot of incredible amounts of stress.”

The Tibyan Center, based in south Minneapolis, bought the building earlier this year and plans to move to the St. Anthony location later this summer. The center focuses on Islamic education for youth. But after word got out, the break-ins began.

“It all started once people knew what was coming,” Hussein said. “And it has not slowed down.”

Hussein said the previous owners said they never experienced any similar attacks.

The Tibyan Center still plans to open in September once the city gives its final approvals. But the damage has brought on “incredible stress” and has forced crews to change locks and board up windows, diverting time and attention from preparing the building for the move in.

Anybody with information about the crimes is asked to call St. Anthony police at 612-782-3350 or CAIR-MN at 612-206-3360.