Mosque near suspect’s home contends with death threats
An Islamic advocacy group on Thursday called for state and federal investigations into phone threats directed at a mosque near the New Jersey home of New York City terrorism suspect Sayfullo Saipov.
The threats were revealed the same day NYPD officials said the Uzbekistani truck driver likely acted alone when he planned and carried out Tuesday’s carnage.
The Council on American- Islamic Relations said the Masjid Omar Mosque in Paterson received verbal threats after the rampage Tuesday in Lower Manhattan left eight people dead and 12 wounded.
“We urge local, state and federal law enforcement authorities to treat this and all the other cases of threats and violence targeting American mosques with the seriousness they deserve and to bring the perpetrators to justice,” CAIR New Jersey Executive Director Jim Sues said in a Facebook post. He asked that law enforcement “be especially vigilant at a time when the risk of backlash against the Muslim community is most severe.”
Paterson Police Director Jerry Speziale confirmed the threats but declined to discuss details. The Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office and the U. S. Department of Homeland Security have been notified, Speziale said.
John Miller, NYPD’s deputy chief of intelligence and counterterrorism, told CBS This Morning that there was no evidence thus far to “make us believe that there was anyone else involved” in the attack.
Saipov appeared in court Wednesday in a wheelchair, handcuffed with his legs in shackles.