For 2nd Year In A Row, Bronx Mosque Being Targeted During Ramadan
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – For the second year in a row, police say a mosque in the Bronx is being targeted during Ramadan.
Its windows have been shattered by pellet guns. A teenager was even hit during prayer.
The mosque on Alexander Avenue in Mott Haven was packed Friday evening in the middle of Ramadan, just as it was on Monday when police say an array of pellet gun bullets pierced its window around 10 p.m.
"We was in the middle of a prayer and then suddenly I hear boom," Imam Mamadou Kamara said.
The imam found three bullets on the ground and said he was relieved no one was hurt – this time. Three days prior, a 17-year-old boy was hit in the arm while praying outside.
"I just felt something hit me. I didn't know what it was. They started telling me it was a B.B. gun, and then somebody showed me the pellet," said the teen, who didn't want to show his face for fear it could put his safety at risk.
As CBS2's Ali Bauman reported, this isn't the first Ramadan spent in fear for the mosque. The front window is still damaged from when police said a sniper opened fire with a pellet gun this time last year.
"We don't know why and we don't know who's behind it," Kamara said.
An NYPD mobile command center is stationed outside in response, helping to put congregants at ease.
"I still come back and pray here. The cops are doing something about it. As long as they're protecting us, it's no problem," said the teen.
The imam said he isn't angry, just wants whoever keeps pulling the trigger to stop.
"We forgive him," he said.
They hope to spend the last two weeks of Ramadan in peace.