As Eid approaches, Minnesota mosques look to increase security after attack in San Diego
The news of the deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego has mosques in the Twin Cities on alert.
Chris Forest watched the news of the fatal shooting from his Minneapolis office. Of the 75 mosques in the Twin Cities, his company, Unparalleled Security, has worked to advise or protect nearly all of them.
"I think the unique situation is it's a heroic act of a security guard," Forest said.
Local police have called the security guard a hero who ultimately saved the lives of children inside the mosque.
"It's unfortunate that the person was killed," said Forest. "Without that individual, there could have been a lot more people involved and injured fatally."
But for Muslim Minnesotans, the concern is what could be next.
Suleiman Adan of Council on American-Islamic Relations of Minnesota says the organization plans to meet Tuesday with state and federal safety leaders to discuss security at Friday prayers and next week's Eid celebration, where hundreds of thousands of Muslims are set to gather publicly.
The organization joins calls from faith leaders around the country for federal security funding.
"A lot of mosques, especially in the state of Minnesota don't have the resources to pay for security guards. They are literally protected by sheer will and resilience," said Adan.
"I think there's a lot of fear. I think there's a lot of fear and when the fear maybe starts to subside, something else comes unfortunately," said Forest.
Adan says there have been 40 incidents and attacks at Minnesota mosques in the last three years. That's five times more than the next closest state, which is California.