After deadly shooting at mosque in Canada, Las Vegas police increase outreach efforts toward local mosques

John Sayed said he was uncomfortable when he arrived to call for morning prayer Monday at a central Las Vegas mosque.

“It’s kind of scary, and we are not feeling safe,” he said.

Sayed said he usually feels safe in Las Vegas, where he has lived for almost five years, but recent events, such as Sunday’s mosque shooting in Quebec that claimed six lives, have contributed to his fear. He said his anxiety eased when he saw police at about 4 a.m. outside Masjid-e-Tawheed, near the intersection of Jones Boulevard and Viking Road.

About noon, two squad cars and several officers were outside the mosque.

Officer Laura Meltzer, a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police Department, said patrols connect with religious leaders regularly but redouble their efforts after events such as Sunday’s deadly shooting.

Meltzer said officers were advised to make contact with Muslim leaders Monday, but she was not sure the department had the resources to dedicate patrols to each mosque in the area for every prayer time.

Rokai Yusufzai, who helped found the Islamic Association of Las Vegas and is chairman of the Las Vegas Afghan Community, said the mosque and Metro have long had a close relationship. He said Metro reached out to him Monday to ensure the community had everything it needs to help worshippers feel safe.

“You can’t live your life in fear,” said Yusufzai, who also serves on the Sheriff’s Multi-Cultural Advisory Council, a group promoting positive relationships between the police department and local cultural and ethnic groups. “So if we have visible officers, it makes the people feel even more comfortable so they can come, pray and go.”

Yusufzai said non-Muslims interested in visiting Masjid-e-Tawheed and observing prayer can do so on Fridays, as long as they let the front office know they are coming.

Masjid-e-Tawheed was the site of what authorities described as a possible hate crime in late December 2015. A man wrapped raw bacon around the handles of the mosque’s doors in the middle of the night. Muslims are prohibited from consuming pork.

The FBI investigated the crime and offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the person who left the bacon. The offer, however, yielded no leads, and the perpetrator was not captured, bureau spokeswoman Sandy Breault said.

Contact Blake Apgar at bapgar@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter.