WASHINGTON — A mosque in northern Virginia has received a threat from someone who left a phone message and cited Wednesday’s attack in California that left 14 people dead.
The person on the message claims to be with the Jewish Defense League, which the Southern Poverty Law Center calls “a radical organization that preaches a violent form of anti-Arab, Jewish nationalism.”
In the recording, the caller said he was ready to kill Muslims if he learned there were any Jewish victims in the California shooting.
The shooters, Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik, were Muslim.
“Unfortunately, we’ve been seeing a spike in anti-Muslim incidents nationwide,” says Ibrahim Hooper, spokesperson for the Muslim advocacy group CAIR.
“We believe we may see even more incidents like the threat to the Manassas mosque.”
Prince William County police are investigating the threat. A police spokesperson tells WTOP the FBI is looking into the incident as well.
Manassas Mosque has been a target in the past. Last year, someone vandalized it with spray paint.
Hear the phone message in a report from WUSA9:
