Man accused of shooting a mosque visitor in Minneapolis allegedly sold drugs nearby

The next day, authorities learned that Hall was being followed as part of a drug investigation. The pursuer had tracked his SUV near the mosque during the shooting and as he left the area.

When police arrested Hall on Wednesday, he reportedly admitted to shooting the 75-year-old. He said he knew the area because he “sells drugs” there and confirmed that the victim approached his vehicle and told him to move away.

Hall reportedly said he shot the victim out of anger after hearing the man say he would kill him if he came back.

The shooting was the latest crime to affect mosque-goers in Minnesota. Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Minnesota, said the state is the only one in the country to have recorded nearly half a dozen attacks on mosques this year.

Days before the shooting, the Dar Al-Qalam mosque in Minneapolis received more than a dozen threatening phone calls.

“When hatred arises, the first thing you should do is react,” Hussein said. “It is a duty to react when a community is suffering and feeling unsafe. So it's not that we are asking people to do something new, we are just asking them to show us the courtesy they would show any other community.”