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Authorities: Fire at Southern California mosque was arson

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In this image made from video provided by KMIR-TC, firefighters battle flames at the Islamic Center of Palm Springs, a mosque in Coachella, Calif., just east of Palm Springs, early today. (KMIR-TV via AP)

COACHELLA, Calif. » A Southern California mosque was damaged in a fire that authorities said was intentionally set.

Flames were reported just after noon Friday at the Islamic Center of Palm Springs, according to the Riverside County Fire Department. The fire was contained to the small building’s front lobby, and no one was injured.

By late Friday night, the Sheriff’s Department released a statement calling the blaze “an intentional act” and saying it would use all available resources to investigate.

People at the mosque described hearing a “loud boom” and seeing flames, said Reymundo Nour, the mosque’s acting imam, who was not on the site at the time. He said the mosque had been “firebombed.”

Authorities provided no details on how the fire was set or whether the department has any suspects.

State fire investigators, the federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI are assisting in the investigation.

The mosque is about 75 miles from San Bernardino, where last week a couple who federal officials say were inspired by Islamist extremists killed 14 people. Some Muslims in Southern California and beyond have worried about the potential for reprisals, while leaders of various faiths have called for tolerance.

In a statement released Friday evening, U.S. Rep. Raul Ruiz, whose district includes the area in which the mosque is located, called on authorities to investigate the blaze as a possible hate crime.

“Our faith in humanity will not be intimidated,” he said. “And we stand together against any form (of) violence towards the innocent.”

County and city officials also condemned the attack.

“We see this as a cowardly act of vandalism that we not tolerate in our community,” Coachella Mayor Steven Hernandez said.

The mosque was hit by gunfire in November 2014 in what authorities investigated as a possible hate crime. No one was injured in the early morning incident. The case remains under investigation, and no arrests have been made.

5 responses to “Authorities: Fire at Southern California mosque was arson”

  1. bumbye says:

    Oh no! Now they’re gonna set fire to each other’s places of worship. What a waste of water in a drought situation!

  2. HanabataDays says:

    If the iole who did this had set himself on fire in the process, I wouldn’t shishi on him to put him out.

  3. mikethenovice says:

    Fighting crime with violence is not the solution. Shaking hands is.

  4. pohaku96744 says:

    Don’t be so quick to blame christians, Sunni and Shiites hate one another. Just choose a different place to continue their war.

  5. pohaku96744 says:

    Remember Iran Air 655, shot down by USS Vincenns, which was home ported at San Diego, when it returned, some one tried to blow up the Commanders car in San Diego. Government found a large population of shiites residing there, most were engineers. Authorities three s blanket on that one fast.

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