MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis police are investigating a pedestrian hit-and-run at a south Minneapolis mosque as a possible targeted, biased crime.
According to MPD, the suspect has "a history of trespassing and acting erratically at the mosque and in the neighborhood."
The hit-and-run happened just before noon on Wednesday in the parking lot at Alhikma Islamic Center.
A 36-year-old man, now identified as Osman Ahmed, was retrieving items from his car in the mosque's parking lot when a minivan sped towards him.
Surveillance video shows the man trying to run, but the driver of the minivan proceeds to swerve and strike him. The hit then causes Ahmed to fly onto the hood of the vehicle.
The suspect — a 37-year-old man — was arrested Wednesday night, according to the MPD. KARE 11 is not naming the suspect because he has not been charged. According to court documents, the suspect has been civilly committed in the past due to mental illness.
"It's terrifying," said Ahmad Farah, who is a member of the mosque and also has an office in the center. "I usually come like 7 a.m. and I didn't come this morning until 10 because I didn't feel safe."
"As he told me this morning, he felt like a train hit him," said Jaylani Hussein, executive director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations Minnesota (CAIR-MN).
Hussein said Ahmed has left the hospital and is now recovering at home. He works as CAIR-MN's director of advocacy.
"He was there on behalf of CAIR to help mosques actually apply for security grants. Can you imagine that?" Hussein said.
"We don't feel safe," Imam Abdirazak Kaynan said. According to Kaynan, they have called the police on the suspect more than 20 times in the past 3-4 years.
Kaynan recalled how a couple years ago, "I was sitting in my office here and he attacked me personally. He had sprayed pepper in my eye. He took my phone."
Kaynan said previous incidents include the suspect throwing a brick through their door's window, slashing tires in the parking lot and three days before the hit-and-run, the suspect drove onto the sidewalk and parked by the door.
"Community members going to pray, they run away because they don't feel safe," Kaynan said.
The center is also home to a daycare center.
"We felt neglected or ignored. I don't think they did enough to prevent this from happening," Farah said.
According to MPD Public Information Officer Garrett Parten, "MPD is working to submit charges for Wednesday’s incident to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office. MPD is committed to doing whatever it can within the law to ensure the safety of the impacted neighborhood. MPD leadership is also in communication with the Imam and staff at the mosque, as well as community leaders. Together, we are working towards the same goal of ensuring safety for everyone."
According to MPD, the suspect's history at the property includes two arrests for a trespass violation in 2020 and 2021 where the city attorney declined to press charges. In October 2021, the suspect was arrested for assault with a dangerous weapon. MPD said there were multiple charges for this case that were declined by the HCAO. There is a pending case where the suspect was arrested for damage to property for slashing tires in the parking lot in May 2022. On May 9, the suspect trespassed again on the property.
"We in Minnesota have now the most amount of attacks against mosques in the nation's history, ever. We are now averaging about nine in the last three years. In Minnesota, we have asked for support, funding support. Even this year, we asked for $3 million to be added to a federal program that already exists that is not enough to sustain the needs for nonprofit securities. We didn't get a single hearing for that bill," Hussein said.
Ahmed is expected to talk about his experience Friday during a press conference.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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