After arson fire at a mosque, Bellevue, WA residents pack meeting to show their support.
An online funding site has already raised half of the funds needed to rebuild.
The police have found no evidence of hate crimes or terrorism. The man who acknowledged setting the fire is homeless, schizophrenic, and had previously asked the police to put him in jail so he'd be safe.
Bellevue is a thriving suburb of Seattle that is significantly more diverse than the city itself. Like Seattle, it went heavily for Hillary.
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/eastside/homeless-man-suspected-of-torching-bellevue-mosque-is-charged/
On Tuesday, people left flowers, balloons and written words of support on the sidewalk outside the burned mosque. One sign said, “We stand UNITED with our Muslim neighbors.” A globe, encircled with red-paper hearts, bore messages including, “We’re better together.” A Bellevue police cruiser was parked in front.
Sunday night, about 500 community members packed an auditorium at Sammamish High School to show their support and learn more from police and city leaders about the crime.
“The outpouring from the community is tremendous,” said Mayor John Stokes. He said the city, the Bellevue School District and a number of churches are trying to identify an alternate worship site for the mosque, where about 1,000 people pray each Friday.
An online funding site has raised almost $250,000 toward a $500,000 goal to help rebuild the mosque.
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