Police are hunting a suspect believed to have set on fire a mosque in Fort Pierce, which was attended by the Orlando night club shooter Omar Mateen.
A surveillance video captured at the Fort Pierce Islamic Center shows an individual approached the east side of the building just moments before a flash is seen and the fire starts, authorities said.
On Tuesday, the authorities concluded the on-scene investigation, saying an “accelerant of some type was poured onto the door and then lit on fire. The type of accelerant is still under investigation.”
“A fire at any place of worship is alarming, regardless of the circumstances,” St. Lucie County Sheriff’s spokesman Maj. David Thompson, said of the arson, which took place on the 15th anniversary of 9/11 terrorist attacks and Islamic festival of Eidl al Azha.
American media quoted authorities as saying that the fire may have been an incident of hate crime.
Omar Mateen was a resident of Fort Pierce. He gunned down 49 people in one of the deadliest shooting rampages at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub in June. Mateen was killed in a shootout with police. Since the nightclub killings, members of the Muslim community who attend the mosque, have complained of threats and incidents of harassment.
Upon conclusion of the on-scene investigation, authorities sought public assistance in identification and capture of the arsonist.
“ Regardless of your personal beliefs, a crime was committed and the person responsible needs to be identified and brought to justice. Please, review the photos and video and come forward with any information,” the Sheriff’s office said in a statement released on the Facebook.
A $ 5000 reward has been announced to anyone who provides information that leads to arrest of the arsonist.
Meanwhile, according to The Washington Post, the Muslim community has vowed to rebuild the mosque.
Hamaad Rahman, assistant imam of the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce, told the Post that the community has been “saddened and scared” by the fire.
“Our community is bigger than a building. We are stronger than that. I feel we will be able to pull together from this, and as time goes by we will be able to rebuild,” he said, according to the newspaper.
