Police: Man took off clothes at Farmingdale mosque for 2nd time this week

Officers found Besart Astafa nude in the basement and arrested him.

Caren Pinto

Jun 14, 2023, 7:43 PM

Updated 560 days ago

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A Deer Park man who was arrested Monday for undressing at a Farmingdale mosque has been arrested again for the same crime.
Besart Astafa, 28, allegedly came to the Masjid Bilal Mosque around 7 p.m. without a shirt on. Once he was inside, he allegedly stripped down completely.
Officials say Astafa punched and broke an electronic screen on the wall.
He was released Tuesday without bail. Police say he then returned to the mosque on Fulton Street and removed his clothing again.
Officers found him nude in the basement and arrested him, according to officials.
Abdul Khwaja, president of the Masjid Bilal Mosque, says Astafa is not from the Farmingdale community and is glad no one was injured.
"This has never happened before, very unusual," Khwaja says. "I asked all the people this, we've never seen him before, so how he found out about this location, I don't know."
Astafa is charged with criminal trespass and exposure of a person.
The Nassau District Attorney's Office says that a stay-away order of protection was also issued, as well as a mental health evaluation.
The mosque has since hired a security guard.
Astafa is due back in court on June 30.