WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Authorities have arrested a man who is suspected of showing up at a Wichita mosque with a handgun and yelling Islamophobic comments at a Muslim man.
The 26-year-old Wichita man is jailed on suspicion of aggravated assault and disorderly conduct. Police said in a news release that the man also is suspected of putting up “concerning posters around the Islamic Society of Wichita,” The Wichita Eagle reports.
Police arrested him Friday at a home in nearby Derby after responding to a disturbance with a weapon call at the Masjid An Noor Mosque, about a block southwest of Wichita State University. A police report states that the man was “making racial comments and discriminating against (the victim’s) religion.”
Officer Charley Davidson said the suspect acted alone and is not part of a network.
Mahbub Khan, president of the Masjid An Noor Inc., said the man was “displaying the distorted cartoon of our beloved prophet, slamming the Holy Quran, cursing with profanity, displaying anger, hostile threats against the peaceful religion of Islam.”
“We want to unite the community against this kind of bigotry and hatred,” Khan said.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.