MINNEAPOLIS – The Minneapolis Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced Wednesday that they are offering a $30,000 reward for information regarding the recent explosion at Dar Al Farooq Community Center.
Alpha News previously reported that an explosion hit the Dar Al Farooq Community Center at 5:05 a.m. on August 5. There were no injuries in the blast. A spokesman for the community center told Alpha News that the congregation was gathered for morning prayers when they heard the explosion occur in the Imam’s office.
In addition to the FBI, the Bloomington Police Department, Bloomington Bomb Squad, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also had a presence at the crime scene.
“We would like to thank the public for their cooperation and the critical information they have provided to our investigators,” the FBI wrote in a short press release. “In support of continued cooperation and to encourage others to come forward, the FBI is now offering a $30,000 reward for information leading to the identification, arrest, and conviction of the subject(s) responsible for the explosion.”
Gov. Mark Dayton was quick to label the explosion a “hate crime” and an “act of terror” in spite of the investigation into the attack still being ongoing. The press conference he held in the aftermath of the attack also included Lt. Gov. Tina Smith, State Rep. Ilhan Omar (DFL-Minneapolis), and U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison.
Ellison has also been quick on the draw on the motives for the explosion, and intensely critical of the lack of any statement condemning the attack by President Donald Trump. This prompted Sebastian Gorka, a national security advisor at the White House, to stress that the White House was waiting to see the results of the investigation before labeling the attack as a hate crime.
In 2014 an Islamic Center in St. Cloud was vandalized a number of times within the span of a month. After the fourth incident, in which a window was broken, the Council on American Islamic Relations called for increased protections for worshipers in St. Cloud, the St. Cloud Times reported at the time.
It was later revealed that at least that fourth incident was carried out by regular congregation member Abrdourahamane Diallo, reported the St. Cloud Times. Diallo sprayed the side of the building with beer before breaking the window. He claimed his frustrations about losing his phone boiled over.
