St. Paul mosque vandalized Friday morning; 5th mosque attack in Minnesota this year
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- St. Paul police are investigating after the latest in a string of attacks on mosques in the Twin Cities.
Around 7 a.m. a person wearing a hoodie and a mask is captured by a surveillance camera entering the Masjid Al Sunnah Mosque's parking lot on Pederson Street in St. Paul.
The person then threw a large rock at the main doors of the mosque.
"The timing was good because nobody was hurt and nobody was here, they smashed the door… then they left," Masjid As-Sunnah Director Abdirizak Diis said.
The shattered door didn't stop people from attending Friday prayer, though many had concerns after learning about the vandalism.
"We tell them to be very careful and be vigilant all the time," Diis said.
It's the fifth time someone vandalized a Minnesota mosque so far this year. Last week, a Plymouth man was indicted on charges of arson and hate crimes after fires at two Minneapolis mosques in April.
"These incidents are sometimes seen as a broken window or a broken door but they have significant impact on our community," CAIR Minnesota Executive Director Jaylani Hussein said.
MORE: Lawmakers speak out after back-to-back Minneapolis mosque fires
CAIR Minnesota visited the Saint Paul mosque on Wednesday, just days before the attack. Hussein said they were there helping them apply for grant money to enhance security.
"For them to be attacked is just an indication of the need for that, and that mosque has actually done a lot to improve. They have a security car there, they have someone staffed that sometimes helps out with security," Hussein said.
The St. Paul Police Department is investigating.
A spokesperson tells WCCO, "In Saint Paul, we value and care about gathering places of all faiths. A crime committed at any of them gets our full attention. We are working to figure out what exactly happened in this case and who is responsible."
Minnesota houses of worship could also be getting security help from state lawmakers. The public safety bill that's now being debated in the house includes a provision to gather more data on hate crimes in the state.
