Calif. Mosque Fire Investigators Mull Hate Crime

April 26, 2011
STOCKTON, Calif. -- KCRA spoke with fire officials Monday morning who said work crews will be at the scene of a mosque fire on Pershing Avenue by the afternoon. The mosque was part of a strip mall that caught on fire early Saturday morning. The building on the 4200 block of Pershing Avenue has been deemed unsafe, Stockton fire officials said. Work crews will use a crane to remove an air conditioning unit and tile from the roof to lessen the weight on it.

STOCKTON, Calif. --

KCRA spoke with fire officials Monday morning who said work crews will be at the scene of a mosque fire on Pershing Avenue by the afternoon.

The mosque was part of a strip mall that caught on fire early Saturday morning.

The building on the 4200 block of Pershing Avenue has been deemed unsafe, Stockton fire officials said.

Work crews will use a crane to remove an air conditioning unit and tile from the roof to lessen the weight on it.

Two places of worship were involved in a Saturday morning fire, so fire officials said they cannot rule out that this was a possible hate crime.

A real estate office and mosque shared a common wall and fire investigators believe that's where the fire started.

ATF spokesperson Helen Dunkel said once the building is safe an arson expert, electrical engineer, and dogs trained to sniff out accelerants will comb the building to determine the cause.

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