MINNEAPOLIS — Fire officials in Minneapolis said at least 10 people were hospitalized Thursday night after an event at a south Minneapolis mosque.
Officials said crews responded to multiple emergency calls at the Abubakar As-Sadique Islamic Center off of 13th Avenue and 28th Street just before 7 p.m. According to information posted online, Abu Taymiyyah, a motivational speaker, was hosting an event.
According to the Minneapolis Police Department, the building was over capacity, and witnesses claimed women and children were fainting and getting hurt. The department said multiple people were treated both inside and outside of the mosque and then transferred to the hospital for evaluation.
Friday morning, the Minneapolis Fire Department confirmed that everyone who was hospitalized had been released.
Emergency responders said ambulances initially couldn't reach the building because of deadlocked traffic and crowds. MFD added that illegally parked cars contributed to the backup in the parking lot. Ultimately, MPD said fire and ambulance crews had to walk through the crowd to reach patients on foot.
Stronger Together MN, one of the organizations that hosted the Thursday night event in Minneapolis, released a statement on Twitter, saying in part that:
"With regards to the challenges arising from capacity issues at our event, we take responsibility and will work to review all of the day's events for lessons learned."
The statement from the organization goes on to say that the same speaker was scheduled for Friday but the event has been canceled. Stronger Together is seeking a new venue for the event at this time.
Fire inspection services returned to the mosque Friday to remind the center's leaders about the capacity limits, and MFD plans to send traffic control representatives to the building Friday night to ensure there are no more issues.
Officials told KARE 11 that at this time they don't expect the mosque to be served any fines or penalties, but they could face them in the future if a similar issue happens again.
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