66-year-old man accused of setting fire outside Jewish Museum of Maryland

BALTIMORE-- A 66-year-old man was arrested for allegedly setting a fire outside of the Jewish Museum of Maryland, Baltimore Police said.

Police said Assadollah Hashemi, who has a history of fire-related crimes, was taken into custody by SWAT officers without incident on Saturday at a home on Druid Park Lake Drive. According to arrest records, Hashemi is facing second-degree attempted arson and first-degree attempted malicious burning charges.

Investigators said a fire was set on August 4 outside the locked front gates of the museum on Lloyd Street in Baltimore.

Howard Libit, the Executive Director of the Baltimore Jewish Council, told WJZ the incident was caught on a security camera system.

"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 said. 

Libit said a construction crew working on renovations at the institution on Monday found the remnants of the fire at the foot of the museum entrance.

Sandwiched between two historic synagogues, the construction crew later reported the property damage.

Libit said on Wednesday that local and federal investigators came to the scene to work the case.

"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 said.

The museum has been closed to the public for renovations over the last year.