Holley teens charged with targeting mosque

[ejpoeta]

I live in a small town between buffalo and rochester. I was surprised to see that http://thedailynewsonline.com/news/article_6c37059e-b4fa-11df-bd11-001cc4c03286.html">this attacking mosques thing is happening so close to where i live. I guess i shouldn't be surprised.

CARLTON — A Holley teen-ager was charged with a felony count of criminal possession of a weapon after allegedly firing a shotgun outside a mosque in Waterport on Monday night.

Mark Vendetti, 17, of Holley was incarcerated in lieu of $10,000 bail or $20,000 bond for the incident that frightened the Muslim congregation on Fuller Road. Vendetti and four other Holley teens — Tim Weader, 17; Dylan Phillips, 18; Jeff Donahue, 18; and Anthony Ogden, 18 — also were charged with disruption of a religious service. Two other teens, 16 or younger, also may face charges, Sheriff Scott Hess said.

The Holley youths allegedly drove two vehicles outside the mosque and were yelling obscenities and beeping a car alarm while members were inside the mosque praying. When the noise persisted, some members went outside. The two vehicles were driven next to each other, going north down the dirt road.

The district attorney and the Sheriff’s Department want to prevent further escalation of the crimes against the Muslim community, Cardone and Hess said.

Bilal Huzair, 39, praised the District Attorney’s Office and Sheriff’s Department for the quick action. Huzair has been attending the World Sufi Foundation mosque for 20 years. The congregation has grown to about 100 members since the mosque was founded in 1974.

Huzair said the immediate neighbors respect the mosque members.

“Our neighbors are very friendly,” he said. “They see there’s no difference in who we are. We’re people just like they are. It’s not our neighbors who did this.”

my husband just called me to tell me they were talking about this on the local radio station. Someone called in and said the sheriff's department didn't even respond until one of the teens called the cops after the parishoners had them surrounded. If this is true it's disgusting. the sheriff apparently thinks this was just a harmless kids prank. i hope that the feds get involved! this is a hate crime. i bet the parents think their kids did a good job. i just want to cry.

[surrealAmerican]

1. These kids are terrorists.

I doubt that they are capable of understanding that.