On Sunday, March 26th, 35-year-old Joseph Scott Giaquinto allegedly threw rocks and a bible, breaking the windows of the Fort Collins Islamic Center as well as destroying property outside of the mosque.
The police report states Joseph arrived a the mosque located at West Lake Street, Fort collins, Colorado at approximately 4:00 am, he threw rocks and a bible into the front doors of the mosque, causing significant damage to the property. He destroyed a number of other items outside of the mosque including benches and kicked in the buildings back door. The suspect did not enter the mosque he only damaged the outside of the building.
The police were notified of the incident a little over an hour later at 5:39 am. The police requested the aid of the public to find the culprit responsible for the crime, Police Chief John Hutto said, “This incident has a very real impact on our Muslim friends and neighbors, the criminal act against their sacred space is unacceptable. Right now, we need our community’s help identifying the suspect so he can be held accountable.”
Monday, the day after the incident, the Fort Collins Police Department were able to apprehend Joseph, the main suspect of the crime.
Joseph Scott Giaquinto has been charged with criminal mischief(class 6 felony), 3rd-degree trespass and bias-motivated crime, he is currently being held at Larimer County Jail.