An unidentified gunman fired into a mosque in western Australia packed with hundreds of Muslims observing the holy month of Ramadan, but no one was hurt, police said Saturday. Around 400 worshippers were praying at the mosque in suburban Mirrabooka in the west coast city of Perth when the shooting occurred Friday evening, Western Australia state police Inspector Neville Patterson said. | “Ali, head of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, declined to identify the leaders whose comments he thought might encourage such attacks. Prime Minister John Howard has described some segments of the Islamic community as "utterly antagonistic" to Australian society. His ruling Liberal Party deputy, Peter Costello, recently said Muslims who want to live under Islamic law have no place in Australia...” |
The gunman, who fled the scene in a green sports utility vehicle, has yet to be identified, he said. The bullet was lodged in the mosque wall and ballistics experts were searching for more clues. Patterson said it was unclear whether the shooting was an attempt to murder or to terrorize.
Ahdielah Edries, 38, said she was among 100 women and children praying on the second level of the mosque when the bullet whizzed past her. The men were on the ground floor. "I heard what seemed like a massive explosion and felt something go past my ear," said Edries, president of the Islamic Council of Western Australia. "If I stood a little bit to the left, I would be dead," she added.