A man burst into the main prayer hall of Northeast Portland’s Abubakar Islamic Center and shouted “alarming and explicit verbal threats” just after 6 a.m. Wednesday, police and worshippers say.
The man, who has not yet been publicly identified, told congregants “if you stand up, you die,” according to Zakir Khan, board chair for the Oregon chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
The suspect then left the building, prompting people inside the mosque to lock the doors, according to the center’s executive board committee. The man later tried to force his way back in, board members said in a Thursday statement, but left before police officers arrived at the Montavilla neighborhood center…