2 charged after St. Cloud Islamic Center vandalized; second mosque break-in this week in Minnesota
ST. CLOUD, Minn. -- Two people have been arrested and charged for allegedly breaking into and damaging an Islamic Center in St. Cloud early Thursday morning.
Police say that officers arrived to the St. Cloud Islamic Center on the 300 block of 5th Avenue South shortly after 4 a.m. An employee had arrived at work and found the building to be damaged.
An employee provided security footage to police, which showed the two suspects entering the mosque around 1 a.m. The employee did not recognize the suspects, according to a complaint, but believed the incident was motivated against those of Islamic faith.
At the scene, officers found a hole in the ceiling, a damaged leather chair, bloody paper towels, and papers strewn about. A piece of paper with Arabic writing on it had a susptect's initials written in blood.
They also found a keycard for a hotel at the scene. The officers went to the hotel, where they found Victoria Catalina Veliz, 25, and Logan Oliver Smith, 23. Inside the room, officers found two Qurans and three cassette tapes with Arabic writing on them, along with marijuana, the complaint says.
In a post-Miranda statement, Veliz said she and Smith went out that night to explore, and found a "scary church" and decided to go inside. She provided a preliminary breath test of .129.
Veliz and Smith have both been charged in Stearns County with burglary of a religious establishment, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.
Police say they are investigating the crime as bias-motivated and coordinating with the FBI. Extra patrols will be provided to Islamic centers and mosques in the area.
It's the second mosque break-in in Minnesota this week. A man was seen on surveillance video breaking into and ransacking the Tawfiq Islamic Center in Minneapolis on Sunday night. The suspect also stole roughly $50,000 in donations. He has not been arrested; the community is offering $6,000 for information.
