Authorities say they have made an arrest in the arson fire that heavily damaged the Florida mosque Orlando nightclub gunman Omar Mateen occasionally attended.
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A Florida mosque was set on fire Monday and authorities have arrested a 32-year-old man in the case, which will be prosecuted as a hate crime, according to WPBF-TV and Reuters. Officers said they received tips from the community connecting Schreiber to the fire at the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce, and that surveillance footage captured a man approaching the mosque on a motorcycle with a bottle of liquid and some papers, then leaving after a sudden flash. Schreiber stands charged with second-degree arson, with a hate-crime enhancement, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.
He was released from state prison in August 2014 after serving 18-months for a grand theft charge, records show.
Schreiber was arrested without incident on Wednesday while walking along a sidewalk in Fort Pierce, Thompson said.
Detectives say that after his arrest Wednesday, Schreiber admitted setting the fire, said he had no intention of hurting anyone and was embarrassed to have committed the crime.
“We have been amazed by the outpouring of support from our neighbors, friends and strangers from across the country and world”, the Islamic Center said on the fundraising page.
Schreiber, who was born in NY, has an extensive criminal history on the Treasure Coast, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
In June, Mateen, 29, entered the crowded Pulse nightclub, a popular gay dance club in central Florida, and began shooting at the some 300 patrons with an assault rifle and a handgun. He professed allegiance to the Islamic State group. It took about four-and-a-half hours for firefighters to extinguish the blaze.
Federal agencies are also investigating Schreiber and could bring additional charges. His father is among roughly 100 people who attend the mosque.
Schreiber, a resident of Port St. Lucie, owns a motorcycle like the one seen in the video, Sheriff’s Major David Thompson told reporters Wednesday. “If we could all talk a bit, maybe things like this wouldn’t have to happen”.
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Sunday’s fire has left the mosque’s members “saddened and scared”, said assistant imam Hamaad Rahman.
