Attack on Belfast Islamic center during evening prayers investigated as hate crime

LONDON (AP) — A 34-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of a terror offense in Northern Ireland for allegedly tossing a suspicious device into the Belfast Islamic Center during evening prayers, police said Saturday.

No one was injured in the Friday attack but Assistant Chief Constable Anthony McNally of the Police Service of Northern Ireland said ammunition officers determined the object was capable of causing harm. He didn’t specify what kind of device it was.

McNally said detectives were looking into whether it was a hate crime. No one else was believed to be involved in the attack.

“It is important to stress that, while the suspect has been arrested under the Terrorism Act, the motive for the attack has not yet been established,” McNally said.

Police provided no other information about the suspect but said he was in custody.

Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn called it a “shameful attack” and local politicians condemned it as cowardly.

“Hatred of this sort has no place in Northern Ireland,” Benn said.