Hate crime probe urged after post suggests Wichita mosque as shooting range
The Council of American-Islamic Relations’ Kansas chapter is calling for a hate crime probe after a threatening Facebook comment was made about a Wichita mosque.
The comment included a picture of the Islamic Society of Wichita in answer to a question about where to find a shooting range in Wichita.
“Given the tragic mass shooting incidents nationwide, we believe this apparent threat to an American house of worship should be investigated as a possible hate crime,” Moussa Elbayoumy, chairman of CAIR-Kansas, said in an emailed statement. “We urge local law enforcement authorities to work with Muslim community leaders to increase security in the area of the mosque.”
Hussam Madi, spokesman for the Islamic Society, told KWCH that the post could be a joke, but that other places of worship have faced actual violence.
“We’re all together in this, the city of Wichita - we’re all Americans, and there is nobody that needs to be targeted like that,” Madi said.
Katherine Burgess: 316-268-6400, @KathsBurgess
This story was originally published December 18, 2017 at 5:53 PM with the headline "Hate crime probe urged after post suggests Wichita mosque as shooting range."