Representatives of a Des Plaines mosque reported Thursday that a man entered the building the previous day and made a comment that was interpreted as a possible bomb threat.
The man, who was on roller blades and was wearing fatigues and carrying a backpack, entered the Islamic Community Center of Des Plaines on Wednesday morning, went into its basement and, when asked by a janitor what he was doing there, "responded by saying on Friday everything will go boom, making a bomb sound," Ahmed Rehab, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Chicago, said at a news conference Thursday.
The man was asked to leave and did so, the group said.
Friday is traditionally a day when Muslims gather for communal prayers, and the Islamic group cited a recent, deadly attack on a mosque in Quebec City as one reason for heightened concern about security.
It’s "really sad to say this is not the first incident and will not be the last at other houses of worship," said Bassam Osman, chairman of the Council of Islamic Relations of Greater Chicago, who also spoke at the press conference.
Des Plaines Police Chief William Kushner said several hours went by before someone at the mosque contacted his agency, contradicting a statement at the news conference that authorities were alerted "immediately."
Based on the description provided by a mosque representative, Kushner said authorities identified the trespasser as someone who’d had prior contact with police, had a history of mental illness and who, earlier that morning, had entered City Hall on roller blades and caused a disturbance.
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After receiving the report from the mosque, the chief said, an officer was dispatched to the man’s residence, and he was taken to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. The chief said the man is "well known to us" and has in the past been deemed not to be threat to himself or others.
Kushner said no one from the mosque had indicated an intention to sign a complaint against the man or requested additional security from police.
Rehab said he has encouraged members of the mosque to seek criminal charges against the man to make sure the situation is fully investigated.
"The idea that someone who is mentally unstable will perform an act of violence is problematic … so is the notion that by being mentally unstable, you cannot possibly commit an act of violence," Rehab said. "Nothing can guarantee such a person cannot do good on his threat unless he is properly vetted."
The situation prompted the mosque’s school to cancel classes temporarily.
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Azhar Usman, a comedian and actor whose child attends the mosque’s school, also spoke at the press conference.
"I’m here as a parent and community member to say we’re not scared of terrorists on roller blades," he said. But he added the incident was emblematic of "a much larger dynamic."
Usman expressed gratitude to police but said the media needs to be "more balanced and fair," adding that the situation would be treated differently if the man who trespassed was a person of color.
Osman cited a cultural shift in which "people who are bigots, who are Islamophobic, who are anti-Semitic feel they don’t need to pretend anymore or hide anymore."
Lee V. Gaines is a freelance reporter.
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