Police investigate mosque vandalism

Vandalism at a mosque Sunday morning has prompted the Muslim community to place armed security officers at the site at night.

The North Austin Muslim Community Center said the break-in and vandalism occurred about 1:30 a.m. when an alarm system was triggered. Police and mosque administrators checked on the property and discovered several broken windows and a slashed tire on a vehicle in the parking lot, according to the center’s Facebook page.

An investigation is ongoing, police said. Investigators gave no information on their progress Monday.

Security camera footage shows what appears to be an 18- to 24-year-old white man entering the property through a wooden fence. He then moved to the front of the building, where he broke the glass of the front entrance, then ran to a side entrance to break the glass of a door and window, the center said.

The video shows the person moving into the parking lot to puncture a tire.

The mosque said the incident was reported to police as a hate crime.

“Starting from tonight, an armed security personnel will be present on the property from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. every day until is deemed unnecessary,” the online post said. The center also plans to install a higher-quality security camera system that would produce footage with higher resolution.

The post said Sunday’s incident is not the first time the mosque has faced vandalism. An incident less than two years ago prompted mosque leaders to hire daily security personnel at a cost of $6,000 per month.

It’s unclear whether any security people were on site when Sunday morning’s vandalism occurred.