FBI Finds Pipe Bomb Used in Blast at Florida Mosque
May 20th, 2010Via: AOL News:
FBI officials in Jacksonville, Fla., say they have found the remnants of a pipe bomb used in a possible hate crime at a mosque during evening prayers.
Along with local police, the FBI launched an investigation after an explosion shook the Islamic Center of Northeast Florida at 9:35 p.m. Monday, when approximately 60 people were inside praying. No one was injured.
“They heard a loud explosion and went out an emergency exit in the back,” Muhammad Mansoori, a Jacksonville resident who worships at the mosque, told AOL News. “There was a fire, and a wall where the bomb was left was blackened. Otherwise, the building is sturdy, no real damage.”
Mansoori said the Muslim population in Jacksonville totals around 5,000 families and that most who practice the religion do so at the Islamic Center mosque.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations held press conferences in Miami and Tampa today, and announced a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction of the person who planted the bomb.
“This incident comes after a man was seen barging into the mosque on April 4, shouting anti-Muslim slurs and threatening to come back later,” Ibrahim Hooper, the council’s communication director, told AOL News. “We’re not sure if he is involved with this latest attack.”
The FBI has released surveillance video taken at the mosque that shows a potential suspect walking in the area where the bomb exploded and close to the time the blast occurred.
Research Credit: dilinger
