A man was beaten in the parking lot as he left evening prayer around 10:15 p.m., police said. It happened at the Islamic Association of North Texas in the 800 block of Abrams Road.
Two men pulled a member of the mosque to the ground, then kicked and punched him, according to a police spokesman. No words were exchanged.
Others in the congregation ran to help, and the two attackers ran off. The next morning, members were shaken. "It's going to be scary for me to come here to practice my religion, if this happens," said member Tareq Mohammed.
"We are advising our congregation to take some precautions since this attack took place in the parking lot," said mosque leader Javaid Karim. "We're taking some security measures for our institution, but as far as the resiliency of the people coming to the mosque, I don't think that's going to be hampered."
At the school inside the mosque, teachers said some parents were afraid to bring their kids to class Tuesday.
The attack took place a day after two men were shot and killed as they tried to attack an art show involving cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the incident, which was thwarted by Garland police.
Richardson police aren't sure if the suspects targeted the man because he was outside of a mosque or if it was a robbery attempt, although nothing was stolen.
Police had already beefed up patrols around mosques at other locations they call "sensitive" in response to the shooting in Garland, said a Richardson police spokesman. However, no officers were nearby during the attack outside the mosque in Richardson.
Police are looking into whether there's surveillance video of the attack. The victim was treated at the scene and is expected to be okay.