NEW YORK (AP) Two men have been charged in a beating of two young girls at a New York City mosque, prompting a public outcry after footage emerged on social media of the attack.
The attack occurred at the new Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center on Friday, the FBI said, the day after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a portion of the ban.
“There is no room for discrimination,” said Omar Khadr, the imam of the mosque in Queens, New York.
Police said one of the victims, who was a minor, was taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries and that the other was treated and released.
The NYPD said a man arrested in connection with the attack was being held on $100,000 bail.
The FBI said a motive has not been determined.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio condemned the attack, calling it “a hate crime.”
The imam said in a video posted on YouTube that the attack occurred in a parking lot near the mosque’s entrance.
I was assaulted by two thugs in my own car.
I was beaten so badly I had to go to the hospital for my injuries.
I am so angry that a man would do this to innocent people.
I pray that justice will be served, he said.
The two men arrested were also charged with assaulting a police officer and assault and battery, according to police.
The New York Post reported that the suspect was a Somali immigrant.
The New York Police Department did not immediately return a request for comment.
Dar Al-Harb mosque has been a focus of protest in the United States.
Authorities said that they had not found any evidence to suggest the mosque was connected to terrorism, but they were looking into whether it was a hate crime.
The NYPD said that its officers and the New York State Police were monitoring the mosque.
Follow APs live coverage of the assault at New York’s new Dar al-Harbiya mosque here.
