A mosque in Coachella, Calif., was attacked on Tuesday in a possible hate crime, according to the FBI and Anti-Defamation League.
Bullets started hitting the Islamic Society of the Coachella Valley at about 5 a.m. when four people were inside the building, the Desert Sun reported. Three shots hit a Toyota Corolla outside and many others struck the building itself. There were no reported injuries.
"A reasonable person would believe when a mosque is targeted, a hate crime may be occurring," Riverside County Sheriff's Department Capt. Andrew Shouse told the Sun.
The shooting happened during a prayer, according to an attendee who didn't want to be identified. He said he thought something or someone was falling over, since nothing like this had ever occurred at the mosque before. It has been open for 16 years, and boasts 90 members.
"Any time shots are fired at a house of worship, the FBI should offer its resources to local authorities to help determine whether or not there was a bias motive for the attack," CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush said, according to the LA Times.
A firebomb attack at a mosque in Albuquerque, N.M. last month was deemed to be a hate crime by the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Across the Atlantic, another country has seen a number of attacks on mosques. Between 40 and 60 percent of England's mosques have been hit with anti-Islamic attacks in the 13 years since 9/11, the Daily Mail reported in June 2013.
There have been reports of Muslim residents finds pigs' heads in their yards, as well as an Islamaphobic attack at north London's Islamic center.
