An area of downtown Sacramento was evacuated Monday afternoon after a suspicious fog filled a mosque.
The mosque is located near Fourth and V streets.
Authorities said a woman entered the building shortly after noon prayers and left something behind that emitted a smoky haze. The woman had not been identified and remained at large Monday evening.
The Sacramento Fire Department was called and firefighters noticed an odor and determined that the haze was not from smoke. The building and a one-block radius around it was evacuated and a hazardous materials team was called to the scene.
"A female white adult entered the mosque earlier in the afternoon and emitted some type of fogging device. The room was filled with some type of fog," Sacramento Police Department Sgt. Terrell Marshall said.
"It was shocking. Everyone was trying to find out what was happening. People come to this mosque on a daily basis ... hundreds pray here every Friday," said Basim Elkarra, who attends the mosque.
A hazmat team entered the mosque and determined the fog was caused by a dry fire extinguisher that was activated.
Established in 1943, the mosque is the oldest in Sacramento.
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