Man arrested in connection with fire at Jewish Museum of Maryland

BALTIMORE (Baltimore Sun/TNS) — A 66-year-old man was arrested Saturday in connection with a fire set outside the Jewish Museum of Maryland on Sunday.

Baltimore police obtained an arrest warrant on Friday for the man, later identified as Assadollah Hashemi, who was suspected of causing the damage at the facility last weekend. On Saturday, Baltimore City SWAT officers entered his home and took him into custody. Baltimore police wrote in a press release that he had a history of “arson offenses.” He was taken to the central reception facility and will be charged soon.

The museum in Jonestown, east of downtown, is closed for renovations until the end of the year. On Monday morning, construction crews discovered the remains of a small fire outside the building's entrance gates, said Howard Libit, executive director of the Baltimore Jewish Council.

Video footage shows a person arriving at the museum around 10:30 p.m. on Sunday and lighting a small object on fire outside the locked gates before leaving, Libit said. Firefighters arrived about 20 minutes later to put out the fire.

The museum is located between two historic synagogues, the Lloyd Street Synagogue and B'nai Israel.

The museum was originally called the Jewish Historical Society of Maryland, was founded in 1960 and received its current name in 1998.