GoFundMe account raises more than $900K for Victoria mosque destroyed by fire

ByCNN
Tuesday, January 31, 2017

VICTORIA, TX -- A GoFundMe account made for a Victoria mosque destroyed by a fire has received responses from people all over the world.

$900,000 has been raised for the Victoria Islamic Center after flames tore it down Saturday.

Omar Rachid started the campaign just hours after the the Islamic Center nearly burned down. He has seen donations from people in cities he said he's never even heard of.

"It's really just amazing. The amount of support," Rachid said.

He said the construction is going to cost every bit of the money raised, probably close to $1 million.

The center is home to a 150 member congregation. In 2013, The Victora Advocate reported that a man admitted to painting "H8," a computer shorthand for "hate," on the outside of the building.

Officials have not determined the cause of the fire.

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