Anwer Ahmed, president of the Islamic Community Center of Bryan-College Station, spoke with reporters outside of the center Thursday afternoon.

“These kinds of things do happen, but we cannot let them stand in our way of worshiping God,” he said. “We have to be strong and we have to stick to our faith and we have to stick to our practices.”

Ahmed said that the organization’s building and mosque have been in the area since the mid-1990s, and nothing like this has ever happened.

“We’ve always felt that this is a very supportive community,” Ahmed said. “We’ve actually felt that Aggie spirit and the support and the brotherhood and sisterhood of the Aggie family. And we still feel it.”

Ahmed told reporters the mosque’s members will remain strong in the face of the incident.

“I have no fear in my heart and I would also urge my fellow members of this mosque not to be afraid and to continue to pray and continue to … live normal lives — as we’ve been living here for decades,” Ahmed said.

Authorities are investigating after early-morning gunshots struck the exterior of the Islamic Community Center at 415 Stasney St. in College Station.

Around 4:30 a.m., College Station police received a report of gunshots in the neighborhood, officials said.

Officers in the area discovered that the exterior of the center had been damaged with what appeared to be gunfire. Officials said rounds from an undetermined weapon hit the main entrance to the community center, causing glass to shatter and other damages.

There was nobody inside the center at the time, and no one was injured during the incident.

The College Station Police Department’s criminal investigation division is investigating the case in partnership with the FBI, police said. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact CSPD at 764-3600.

The center’s 10-member board of directors will meet this afternoon and release a statement then.

The Islamic Center and mosque is at the corner of Cherry and Stasney streets, near a section of the Northgate District that houses other religious centers and churches.

According to the Islamic Community of Bryan-College Station’s website, the organization aims to serve the needs of Muslims in the Bryan-College Station area. The ICBCS also aims to “foster harmony and engage with the larger non-Muslim by imparting correct knowledge and understanding of Islam and Muslims.”

The organization has been serving Muslims living in the area since the late 1980s, the group’s website says.

On Wednesday, Muslims celebrated the Eid al-Fitr holiday to make the end of the holy month of Ramadan, which is marked by daytime fasting.