Hawzah News Agency (Texas, US) – Vandalism at a north Austin mosque Sunday morning has prompted the Muslim community to place armed security officers during nights at the mosque.

The North Austin Muslim Community Center said the break-in and vandalism occurred around 1:30 a.m. when their burglary alarm system was triggered. Police and mosque administration checked on the property and discovered several broken windows and a slashed tire on a vehicle in the parking lot, according to the NAMCC's Facebook page.

A police investigation is ongoing, police said. Investigators gave no information on their progress Monday.

Security camera footage shows what appears to be an 18- to 24-year-old white male entering the property through a wooden fence. He then moved to the front of the building where he broke the glass of the front entrance, then ran to a side entrance to break the glass of a door and window, the NAMCC said.

The video then shows the person moving into the parking lot to puncture a vehicle's tyre.

The mosque said they have reported the incident to police as a hate crime.

"Starting from tonight, armed security personnel will be present on the property from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. every day until is deemed unnecessary," the online post read. They also plan to install a higher-quality security camera system that would produce footage with higher resolution.

The post also says Sunday's incident is not the first time the mosque has faced vandalism. An incident that occurred less than two years ago prompted mosque leaders to hire daily security personnel at a cost of $6,000 per month.

It's unclear if any security personnel were on site when Sunday morning's break-in occurred.