The American authorities confirmed that they are investigating acts of sabotage and bombing that took place last night, Saturday, in “First Works” Church, Los Angeles, USA.
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The site “THT HILL” that this church has been the subject of controversy recently, because of its language against “LGBTQ (gay gay community), and groups of other minorities.”
According to NBC’s Los Angeles station, KNBC officials, El Monte Police Department, and FBI officials responded overnight to reports of an improvised explosive device attack at First Works Baptist Church.
Later on Saturday, city police chief David Renoso said that he believed a “explosive device” was the source of the explosion, pointing out that the authorities had found obscene phrases, and the phrase “Get out”, coated with a spray of dyes on the facade of the church, according to a newspaper “The New York Times”.
Laura Emiler, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Los Angeles, indicated that authorities have not yet detained anyone in connection with the explosion, and that officials have not yet determined the motive. She added, “We have not ruled out anything.”
And “KNBC” channel reported that “there were no reports of injuries in the explosion.”
The FBI field office tweeted on Twitter, seeking general assistance in identifying those responsible for the attack, and attached the tweet to a phone number, calling on whoever had any information related to the incident to contact the office.
According to The Times, Bruce Mejia, a pastor at First Works Church, reported to the police about two weeks ago that the church had received a burning threat, on social media.
It is worth noting that the church has been criticized in the community, as he received the petition calling on the mayor of “El Monte” to recognize the church as a hate group and to “get them out of our city”. This petition received more than 15,000 signatures in support of it, according to “THE HILL”.
The local LGBTQ rights organization, Keep El Monte Friendly, had initially planned to organize a protest against this church, but canceled the event due to the bombing.
The group wrote a statement in “Instagram”, saying: “We are in great shock and hope that no one is injured during this tragedy.”
She added, “Our movement aimed to shed light and spread awareness about the hate speech this church is receiving, and we understand that what it promotes can anger people, however, we will never encourage or condone any acts of violence or harmful acts.”
Source: “THE HILL + RT”
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