Dearborn mosque fire not linked to political or ideological motivations

Dearborn mosque fire being investigated; armed suspect shot dead by police

The Al-Huda Islamic Association was hit with an alleged firebombing on Feb. 12. The fire is still being investigated.

DEARBORN, Mich. - Investigators have found no indication of political or ideological motivations behind a fire at a Detroit-area mosque set by a man whom police later killed in a shootout.

There also is no evidence that Ahmed Taqi acted as part of any group, FBI Special Agent Josh Hauxhurst said Saturday during a community meeting at the Al-Huda Islamic Association in Dearborn where the fire happened, according to The Detroit News.

"He may be the only person who knows why he set the fire," Hauxhurst told about 150 people at the meeting. "We often see telegraphing of motives in cases. We haven’t seen that in this case."

Officers on regular neighborhood patrol noticed the fire at the mosque on Feb. 12 around 1 a.m. Taqi, 37, shot at the officers outside the mosque and ran away, Dearborn Police Chief Issa Shahin said.

Officers followed and shot Taqi when he started shooting at them again, Shahin said.

Taqi was an Iraqi national and worked as a translator, Dearborn Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud said Saturday.

Dearborn has one of the largest Arab-American populations in the U.S. No threats have been made against places of worship in the city since the fire and shooting, Hammoud added.

"The goal here was to demonstrate that what happened one week ago was an isolated incident," he said.

Hammoud has said Taqi may have been "experiencing a mental health crisis at the time."