Police Probe Threats Against Englewood Mosque

Englewood police are following “several significant leads” as they investigate who phoned-in a series of threats against a city mosque amid the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, authorities said Monday.

Patrol officers responded to the Mehfil-e-Shah-e-Khorasan Charitable Trust Mosque around 4 p.m. Sunday on reported threats made against the religious center, Detective Capt. Timothy Torell said.

“As a result of what was relayed to our officers, we decided to err on the side of caution. We contacted the Bergen County Police Department and requested their bomb squad and K-9 units to sweep the location for any type of explosive or incendiary devices,” Torell said.

Nothing suspicious was found and Torell said police were thoroughly investigating the incident.

“Obviously, we will be trying to determine if this is a case of an emotionally disturbed person picking a random religious facility or if this location was specifically targeted for harassment and intimidation for some reason yet unknown to us,” the captain wrote in an e-mail.

Police were not aware of any other similar incidents, he added.