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By Maria Perez
Staff Writer
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Authorities were trying to determine if a fire that broke out at a mosque in Cary, North Carolina, on Friday morning was suspicious.
A spokesperson from the Cary Fire Department told Newsweek that firefighters responded to a fire at the Islamic Center located at 1155 West Chatham Street. The mosque was under construction during the time of the fire, the spokesperson said. Town of Cary officials told CBS17 that the call came in at 7:55 a.m., and the fire was extinguished by 9 a.m. The fire is currently under investigation and is deemed suspicious, according to CBS17.
Once the mosque completed construction, it would become the largest mosque in the state, according to CBS17. Shakil Ahmed, the president of the Cary Islamic Center, told WRAL that the mosque took 10 years to build and was six months away from completion.
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Ahmed told WRAL that crews working on the building found heavy smoke at the site around 7:30 a.m. and had also discovered a broken window in the rear of the mosque. The president told the news station this was not the first time there have been signs of vandalism there.
"Graffiti and all kinds of things but we consider those as kids in the neighborhood," he told WRAL. "We have not been concerned and have continued building."
A reporter from WRAL tweeted on Friday that the Cary Islamic Association president said the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agency and the FBI were now involved in the investigation.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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