Canadian mosque vandalized by 2 suspects wielding axe, knife

By Barry Ellsworth

TRENTON, Canada (AA) - The hunt continued Thursday for two weapon-wielding suspects who tried to break down the door of a Winnipeg Mosque.

About 4 a.m. Tuesday, a volunteer cleaner at the Abu Bakr Al-Siddique Community Centre in Winnipeg, the capital of the Canadian province of Manitoba, heard a loud bang.

Shaqir Shaikh went to investigate and saw two people, one holding an axe and the other a knife, he told CTV News.

“I just shouted loudly and I just locked the door and I just called (emergency number) 911,” said Shaikh.

Police quickly arrived but the suspects had fled the scene, he said.

Mosque director Adnan Siddiqui said the Muslim community is concerned by the attack.

“They are really upset because we don’t know what was the purpose (of the attack),” he said.

Stephen Brown, CEO of the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), said in a statement on Instagram that it serves no purpose to make suppositions on the reason for the crime.

“At this point, while we encourage Winnipeg Police to continue all angles of the investigations including as to whether this was potentially hate-motivated, we encourage our community not to speculate on the motivation of the attackers,” said the group. “We are working closely and productively with the Winnipeg Police and we will provide updates as they become available.”

Siddiqui said the mosque door needs to be replaced and security at the center will be beefed up.