Vandals hit the future home of an Islamic Center in St. Anthony, MN for the eighth time in two months on Tuesday, reports MPR.
The Council of American-Islamic Relations in Minnesota released security footage Wednesday showing boys breaking into the Tibayan Center which is set to open later this year.
This is the third time this month alone the Center has been targeted.
“All of the sudden in May, there’s a public notice that goes out into the community about the potential use for this facility,” CAIR-MN Executive Director Jaylani Hussein said. “Then all the sudden here comes this string of attacks, and they haven’t decreased.”
According to Bring Me the News, the vandals have done $20,000 in damage. Police say there’s no signage on the building that it is a religious facility.
“We believe these attacks may be part of a broader effort to intimidate and harm Muslim communities and we call on law enforcement and the community to help in bringing these perpetrators into custody,” said Hussein to Bring Me the News.
The first incident happened on May 22, according to a timeline from police given to KSTP. Police say they are actively investigating five of the incidents.
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