Texas mosque hit with paintballs, religious leaders call for hate crime investigation

(CBS/AP) McKINNEY, Texas - A North Texas mosque was hit by about two dozen paintballs in a weekend incident that some religious leaders want treated as a possible hate crime.

McKinney police Sgt. Chad Barker said Monday that nobody was hurt and the case initially was being investigated as criminal mischief.

Officials with the McKinney Islamic Association didn't immediately return messages about the incident.

Leaders of the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) are calling for a hate crime investigation. A statement from the group says the paintball attack happened late Saturday night or early Sunday. A vehicle owned by a congregation member was also hit with paint.

According to CBS DFW, in a news release about the attack the advocacy group said worshipers have recently been "verbally harassed by young people who gather near the mosque."

CAIR reportedly said that in addition to the paintballs aimed at the building, a member of the congregation had his vehicle hit after he left the facility.

Barker says the mosque was unoccupied at the time of the incident. Police did not immediately have a damage estimate.