Authorities in Southern California are investigating a fire that damaged the Islamic Society of the Coachella Valley mosque Friday.
Witnesses described hearing a "loud boom" and seeing flames. The fire was contained in the front lobby, and no one suffered injuries. The FBI and ATF are investigating the incident and have not ruled out arson, according to The Blade.
Officials believe this occurrence is, along with other recent incidents, in retaliation for the recent San Bernardino terrorist shootings. The mosque is located roughly 75 miles away from where the San Bernardino shootings occurred.
"Our faith in humanity will not be intimidated, and we stand together against any form [of] violence towards the innocent," Rep. Raul Ruiz said in a statement Firday, the Associated Press reported.
Shots were fired at this very same mosque last year, an incident that authorities investigated as a hate crime.
Details regarding how and why the fire started are scarce. However, Ojaala Ahmad, communications coordinator for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, believes that the fire is cause for alarm in light of recent attacks on Muslims.
"Obviously it's really upsetting, and it's very unfortunate. In this case, in Coachella, we don't know the motive behind it yet. It just comes to show how real Islamaphobia is, how scary and how threatening it can become, and how dangerous Islamaphobia is to our nation and fellow Americans," Ahmad said according to The Los Angeles Times.
