WASHINGTON: A man, who allegedly burned down a mosque in a town near Houston has been arrested, according to media reports.
Police officials told a federal judge in Corpus Christi on Thursday that Perez has been taken in custody after a destructive device was recovered from his possession.
Marq Vincent Perez, 25, allegedly robbed the mosque at the Islamic Centre in Victoria, a town in Texas, on Jan 22 and then again on Jan 28, after which he set the mosque on fire, which damaged the mosque to a great extent.
The Victoria community rallied around the small Muslim congregation and a GoFundMe campaign brought in nearly $1 million in the first two days after the incident. A synagogue in Victoria also offered its facility to the local Muslims for prayers.
“Today, our faith in humanity has been rekindled again,” the Victoria Islamic Centre wrote on Facebook after receiving keys from the synagogue.
A spokesman for the Islamic Centre said they had already forgiven the suspected arsonist.