Agencies wrapping up probe into mosque, church fire
STOCKTON - Investigators from the Stockton Fire Department and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives concluded their on-site collection of evidence Wednesday afternoon at the scene of Saturday's early morning fire that destroyed part of a Pershing Avenue strip mall housing a mosque, a church and a real estate office.
The evidence has been transferred to the ATF's forensics lab in Walnut Creek and the Stockton Police Department's General Crimes Unit for analysis to help determine the source of the fire.
Until then, the incident remains under investigation, according to Deputy Fire Chief Paul Willette.
"At this point, now it's up to the lab folks to add their piece to this puzzle," Willette said, noting federal and local arson investigators spent 16 to 20 hours this week combing through the burned-out remains of the building at 4212 N. Pershing Ave. Workers required a crane to help stabilize what was left of the structure before investigators could safely enter the area, Willette said.
The ATF was requested to join the investigation and often makes itself available for assistance on high-interest incidents - in this case the gutting of the Masjid al Emaan mosque and lesser damage to the Living Water Ministries & Christian Center. The office of Reliance Real Estate also was gutted.
The mosque's president, Fahmy Nasser, 29, was still in shock four days after the fire. The business office for Masjid al Emaan, which translates from Arabic as The Place for the Faithful, relocated to the same Pershing Avenue complex, but it cannot accommodate the mosque's 100 members who meet for their main service on Fridays.
"I don't know what kind of turnout we will have this Friday. Some members come from Lodi and Sacramento and Tracy. They include doctors and engineers and students," said Nasser, a Stockton native and graduate of California State University, Sacramento, in electrical engineering.
He and other volunteer leaders had talked about putting together a membership roster including email addresses, but that had not yet been done, so there is no way to inform every member that their place of worship no longer exists.
The mosque has been in the Pershing Avenue complex for a number of years, first renting a smaller space until its growing membership required more room. It moved to the Pershing Avenue location about two years ago. It was originally started by a group of students getting together to pray, but Nasser was unsure of the year.
While Friday is the main service, smaller groups of members come every day of the week at various times to pray and learn more about their faith. The mosque, while outfitted simply, housed an extensive library of religious books, many that Nasser said were irreplaceable.
"Our community is really thankful that no one got hurt in the fire. The Stockton Fire Department was really efficient in doing their job and in not allowing the fire to spread to other buildings and nearby apartments. They did a really great job," Nasser said.
He also said that "the ATF was very sensitive to our needs and asked how they should handle any undamaged books. We have assisted the ATF in any way that we can, trying to make their job as easy as possible."
