Man shot multiple times outside north Minneapolis mosque
MINNEAPOLIS — A 75-year-old man was shot multiple times outside of a north Minneapolis mosque Monday evening, but police said he is expected to survive.
The shooting happened at 18th and Lyndale avenues, outside of the Masjid An-Nur mosque, around 5:45 p.m.
The man, identified as Abdul Kareem, was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, police said.
Mosque leaders say Kareem's actions were nothing short of heroic.
"He's a beloved member of the community. A lot of people are very upset, very angry," Imam Makram El-Amin said. "Theres a code in the Muslim community across the country and across the world, that if you shoot one of us, you shoot all of us and we come in solidarity to stand with each other."
The Council on American-Islamic Relations Minnesota say Kareem was walking out of the mosque after a prayer when he asked some people he thought could be selling drugs to move along. Those guys took off in a car but came back. That's when one of them started shooting, hitting Kareem three times.
Police said they are "working to determine the circumstances around the incident."
"All houses of worship in this city are sacred spaces and we should be defending all of them," Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said. "This one in particular is a source of hope for so many in this neighborhood. It's a source of meeting so many basic needs for many people in this community."
Just this past weekend, hundreds came out to that mosque for a resource fair, helping folks with things like health care and food.
Leaders say this act of violence won't deter them from serving the community.
One person is in custody.