Second mosque fire approaching verdict

At approximately 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 21, the Islamic Center of Eastside was set ablaze for the second time in just over a year, leaving the mosque in ruins. It is reported that shortly after smoke began pouring out of the mosque, a group of teenagers were seen running from the building and fleeing the area. They were identified by a local school resource officer, resulting in the arrest of 18 year old suspect Carlos Diaz-Cruz and four other teens.
After an initial FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, investigation, Police Chief Steve Mylett revealed that the “mattresses and pizza boxes in the structure, cigarettes, cigar residue, packaging, a bunch of garbage and graffiti,” found within the mosque were believed to have caused the structure to ignite. Graffiti was also found within the structure. However its message was not one of hate, but instead discontent for school. Diaz-Cruz has since been charged with first-degree arson, with no word on possible charges for the other four teens who were involved.
Practitioners and local community members from the mosque expressed their concern over the second fire, with Omer Lone, one of the center’s council elders, explaining that he “sees the people, the community going, ‘Wait, is it going to happen again?’ There is a fear that is rushing through the spine.” There was concern that the fire had been intentionally set due to the fact that the mosque did not contain a natural gas system, was fenced off and did not have an active electrical system.
Muneer Mohammed, a board member within the Eastside Islamic Center described his feelings toward the fire: “Inside I have a lot of nervousness right now because it happened twice.”
The community members recalled how similar the event is to the fire which happened on Jan. 14, 2017 when a homeless man, Issac Wayne Wilson, pleaded guilty to first-degree reckless burning, which was directly connected to the fire.
Bellevue police in conjunction with the FBI and ATF do not believe the arson was hate related. Mylett commented, “Consensus-wise we came to the conclusion that there is nothing indicating that this fire was started as a result of hate or bias towards Islam or the Muslim community.”
FBI spokeswoman Ayn Dietrich-Williams followed up on Mylett’s assessment of the situation, describing the necessary circumstance for this fire to be considered a hate crime. “There must be specific targeting based on protected traits (race, color, religion, national origin, disability, gender, family status) plus intention for the crime to injure, intimidate or interfere with those federally protected traits,” she said. “The FBI will continue to support our Bellevue police and fire partners as the investigation continues, so we are aware of any developing information.”
If the FBI does identify evidence suggesting that the fire was hate related, the department will “engage the United States Attorney’s Office to determine whether federal charges should be filed,” according to Dietrich-Williams.