Investigators believe the three Alabama mosques broken into in March were robbed by the same man – and that he committed a series of burglaries at mosques across the country earlier this year.
According to the Gadsden Times, detectives say three mosques in Alabama, two in Arizona and one in Virginia were broken into earlier this year.
Two Alabama mosques, in Gadsden and Anniston, were broken into March 10 and a mosque in Tuscaloosa was burglarized just four days later. Investigators say the suspect, captured on surveillance video, appears to be the same man who burglarized a mosque in Blacksburg, Virginia, on Feb. 25. A detective in Chandler, Arizona says those photos also match ones of the suspect from burglaries on March 30 in the Arizona cities of Chandler and Maricopa.
Investigators say there’s nothing necessarily to indicate the thefts are hate crimes directed at the Islamic faith. In nearly every instance, just money was stolen and there was no vandalism or defamation.