REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, FLORIDA -- The Islamic Center of Fort Pierce, Florida was damaged on Monday in an arson attack, investigators said.

Local law enforcement officers received reports of flames rising from the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce, located about 100 miles (161 km) southeast of Orlando, at about 12:30 a.m. EDT,

St. Lucie County Sheriff's Major David Thompson told reporters at a news conference. No one was injured.

The attack occurred on one of the holiest Muslim holidays, Eid al-Adha, also known as the Feast of Sacrifice that marks the end of the annual Hajj. pilgrimage. 

Surveillance video showed a white or Hispanic man approached the mosque by Harley Davidson-style motorcycle moments before the blaze erupted. In the video, it appears he was carrying paper and a bottle of some type of liquid. "Immediately after the individual approached, a flash occurred and the individual fled the area," Thompson said. 

Investigators will work to enhance the footage to identify the suspect, he said. The man shook his hand while leaving the area of the flames, indicating that he might have burned himself.

At the news conference, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Florida said the blaze was an act of hate.

Ahmed Bedier, president of the civic group United Voices for America, also called for authorities to investigate it as a hate crime.

"For this to happen to us, on the morning of our biggest celebration of the year, was something horrific," Hamaad Rahman, associate imam at the mosque, also told reporters.

The mosque temporarily relocated its morning prayers for Eidal-Adha.

Omar Mateen, who committed the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, prayed at this mosque. He was killed by law enforcement officials after fatally shooting 49 people and wounding 53 others in a gay nightclub in Orlando in June.

Mateen told police in a 911 call that he had pledged his allegiance to the head of the Islamic State militant group, though investigators do not believe he had any help from outside organizations.

Shortly after the massacre, the mosque in Fort Pierce was identified as Mateen's place of worship. It has reported receiving multiple threats of violence and intimidation. In June a motorcycle gang circled the center and shouted at its members, and in July a Muslim man was beaten outside the mosque.

Thompson said investigators were still seeking a motive for the attack and were considering a connection with the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on Sunday.

"I would not want to speculate, but certainly that is in the back of our minds," he said.

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