The FBI is probing a case in Southern California where two mosques were vandalized on Sunday. The vandals spray-painted the mosques located in Hawthorne and left an imitation grenade along the driveway of one of the mosques.
On Sunday, the Hawthorne Police Department received a report that an unconfirmed, unstable device that might explode had been seen outside the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Baitus-Salaam Mosque. Aside from leaving the fake bomb, the vandals wrote "Jesus" on the railings of the mosque using spray-paint, according to the Washington Post.
In a separate incident, the police department also received a report that the wall of the Islamic Center of Hawthorne was vandalized as well, with the statement, "Jesus is the way," according to Time.
The hate crimes are currently being investigated by the police and FBI.
Vandals spray-paint Hawthorne mosques, leave fake hand grenade on property https://t.co/xdR8FfQC08 pic.twitter.com/Tw1kbN5AnM
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) December 13, 2015
"This type of behavior is born out of ignorance and fear and we as members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community ... we respond with peaceful dialogue," said Ahsan M. Khan, president of the community's chapter, the Associated Press reported. "It's through peaceful dialogue that we can hopefully see less of this type of hate crime."
On Friday, Carl James Dial Jr., 23, was arrested in relation to a fire that occurred in the Islamic Center of Palm Springs. The fire was controlled within the lobby and nobody was hurt. Dial is under investigation for committing hate crime, arson, setting a fire and burglary, the Associated Press added.
