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ESCONDIDO, California – A note referring to recent terrorist attacks in New Zealand was found at the scene of a possible arson in a mosque in southern California, police said Sunday.
Nobody was injured and members of the Escondido Islamic Center were able to extinguish the small fire in front of the fire department around 3:15, officials said.
The incident was currently under investigation for arson and possible hate crime, police said in the city about 48 km north of downtown San Diego.
A note was found in the parking lot referring to this month's shooting that killed 50 people in mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, police lieutenant Chris Lick said. He did not specify the content of the note.
The investigators did not disclose information about a suspect.
The fire caused minor damage to the outside of the building.
Seven people were inside the mosque at the time of the fire, the police told KNSD television channel. They were able to extinguish the fire with a fire extinguisher before the firefighters arrived, KNSD reported.
"There are people sleeping at night," said Yusef Miller. "They heard the noises, they smelled funny smells and there was a letter saying something communicating with New Zealand at the same time, so it made everyone very nervous."
The Escondido Mosque was established four years ago and serves several hundred people in the city of about 143,000 residents, said Miller.
He told KNSD that the faithful are not discouraged.
"We will not stop praying," Miller said. "We will not stop gathering."
Dustin Craun, president of the Council for American-Islamic Relations in San Diego, said his civil rights group was at the mosque.
"It's quite disturbing that a sick individual is trying to set fire to a house of worship, but to refer to the killings in New Zealand is beyond the limit," he said in a statement. . "While the majority of humanity has reacted to the tragedy to come closer to each other and refute hatred, a violent and hateful minority is demanding new divisions." We are grateful that someone has found himself inside the mosque and could act quickly We ask anyone with information to come forward and contact the Escondido Police Service We stand in solidarity with members of our community who attend the Islamic Center of Escondido. "
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