Following incidents of anti-Semitic vandalism this year, there may now be a new set of religious attacks taking place in New York City. On Sunday night, about 80 worshippers were inside the Imam Al-Khoei Foundation when a molotov cocktail was thrown at the building.
The attack on the Queens-based mosque has been condemned by the Council on American-Islamic Relations and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The governor said the attacks "go against everything we stand for as New Yorkers and Americans." Oddly, the incident -- which is being investigated as a "bias crime" -- was only one in a series of potentially-related firebomb assaults.
In addition to attacking the mosque, perpetrators also threw molotov cocktails made from Starbucks bottles at a bodega counter owned by Muslims. After the attack on the counter (the first in the series), a home went up in flames. CBS News has more about this potential act of arson:
It took firefighters 40 minutes to bring the blaze under control but the home suffered serious damage and was a total loss, officials said.Police say this second attack may not be related to the others because the homeowners were African-American and Christian, but a connection is still being investigated.
Additionally, another house used for Hindu worship was attacked, though the two bottles thrown at it didn't explode. The string of possible anti-faith actions occurred between 8:00 p.m. and 10:14 p.m.
Police are currently investigating whether these attacks are related, as they seek out the perpetrator or perpetrators behind them.
(H/T: Huffington Post)
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