According to Baltimore Police, a 66-year-old man was taken into custody for allegedly starting a fire outside the Jewish Museum of Maryland.
Assadollah Hashemi, who has a history of crimes involving fire, was apprehended by SWAT personnel on Saturday at a residence on Druid Park Lake Drive without any problems, according to the police. Arrest papers state that Hashemi is charged with first-degree attempted malicious burning and second-degree attempted arson.
According to investigators, a fire was started on August 4 outside the museum’s secured entrance gates on Lloyd Street in Baltimore.
The Baltimore Jewish Council’s executive director, Howard Libit, informed WJZ that a surveillance camera system captured the incident.
“Going back in the video, what appears to be someone Sunday night around 10:30 pulls up to the museum, puts some kind of an item in front of the locked front gate, lights it on fire and takes off,” Libit stated.
According to Libit, the remains of the fire were discovered at the base of the museum entrance on Monday by a construction team doing repairs at the establishment.
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The building crew subsequently reported the property damage, with the structure sandwiched between two old synagogues.
Local and federal investigators arrived at the scene to work the case, Libit said on Wednesday.
“It’s hard to believe someone would randomly light a small fire outside an institution that’s clearly labeled as Jewish between two historic synagogues that there’s not some antisemitic or anti-Israel intent,” Libit stated.
For the past year, the museum has been closed to the public in order to undergo repairs.
