Shocking second masked males throw firebombs via window of Muslim prayer room in cafe
The Middle Eastern-inspired cafe in Blackburn, Lancs., suffered extensive damage after a petrol bomb was lit and thrown through the window of its Muslim prayer room
Shocking CCTV footage captures the moment two masked thugs throw a fire bomb at a Muslim prayer room inside a popular cafe. Surveillance cameras caught the men throwing lit bottles of accelerant at the building in the early hours of Monday.
They can then be seen running away as fire takes hold of the prayer room at Café Raha in Blackburn, Lancashire. Prayer mats were destroyed as flames took hold, and another window at the front of the building was also smashed as the two men ran off.
Owner Mohammed Awais feared his Middle Eastern-inspired cafe had been targeted deliberately. He said: “From the outside you can see it is a prayer room through the glass. You can see the Arabic verses and the prayer mats.”
The Raha Café only opened last year and was named as one of the finalists in the Lancashire Telegraph’s Best Coffee Shop competition.
Mohammed told the local paper after the attack: “I believe someone is targeting us because we are doing very well.
“We put our hearts and souls into this place. It is a lot different to whatever is in Blackburn. We have not done anything to anyone. Whatever it is, it should not push someone to do something so dangerous.
“It is affecting people’s livelihoods and staff rely on their work to survive. There is no reason to do something reckless like this.
“If there is an issue or something has gone wrong in the store they should come and see us. We have not done anything wrong to anyone.”
Luckily, nobody was injured in the blaze, and Mohammed and his team were out on Monday, cleaning up the venue so they could reopen as soon as possible.
He added: “We have all turned things around quite quickly to make sure we can open fast. Seeing this was just to make us all depressed. We are also thankful to the fire teams and the local neighbour who appears to have alerted them straight away.”
Fire crews brought the blaze under control and spent two hours on site. Lancashire Police said it was investigating it as an arson attack and have increased patrols in the area, but say they do not believe it was racially or religiously motivated.
A force spokesman said: “We were called at 2.32am on Monday to a café premises on Whalley New Road, Blackburn, to a report of an arson. Colleagues from Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service had attended to extinguish the fire.
“The cause of the fire – which is being treated as an arson – is being investigated and inquiries are ongoing. Detectives are leading the investigation and are carrying out a number of lines of enquiry, including checking CCTV in the area.
“No suspects have been identified at this time. While the motivation for the attack has yet to be fully established there is no suggestion at this time that the incident is racially or religiously motivated.”
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