A man was arrested after officials say he attacked another man at the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce early Saturday morning.
The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office responded to an attempted vehicle burglary at the Islamic Center at 1104 West Midway Road at approximately 4:11 a.m.
Officials say a man bleeding from the mouth said he was standing next to his vehicle when a male approached him, asked what he wanted and punched him several times in the face and head and fled the scene.
The victim gave detectives a description of the suspect and the vehicle he was driving.
According to the sheriff's office, a few minutes later a traffic stop was conducted on a vehicle matching the description at the intersection of SW Prima Vista Boulevard and NW Curtis Street in Port St. Lucie.
The suspect was identified as 25-year-old Taylor Anthony Mazzanti. He was arrested and charged with felony battery.
Mazzanti was booked into the St. Lucie County Jail and helf on a $3,750 bond.
The victim was transported to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center where he was treated and released.
St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara released the statement bellow:
“Interviews by the deputies and supervisors on scene and a written witness statement completed by the victim do not indicate any racially-motivated comments were made by the suspect prior to, during or after the incident. However, we are further investigating the incident and detectives will be interviewing the suspect, victim and apparent witness that has now been identified by the Council of Islamic American Relations. The untruthful rhetoric from the mosque and its spokesperson is doing nothing more than trying to bring empathy to their cause, which I hope our community recognizes. My office, including myself and our agency Chaplain, have repeatedly attempted to communicate with the mosque to explore options of working together and there has been no response.”
The investigation is ongoing.
