A suspect in an August 6 arson at the Jewish Museum of Maryland was arrested in a SWAT raid on August 10, the Baltimore Police Department announced.
The 66-year-old male had a history of fire-related crimes, said police.
Jewish Museum of Maryland executive director Dr. Sol Davis said in an August 8 statement that a fire had been intentionally set at the front gate of the museum, and that the Baltimore Fire Department managed to extinguish the fire twenty minutes later. Davis reported that no one was injured and that the museum only suffered superficial damage.
Members of the neighboring B’nai Israel synagogue and the Baltimore Jewish Council gathered outside the site before shabbat on August 9 to show “connection,” after the incident, the Museum said on August 10 on Facebook.
The museum has being undergoing modernization renovation and reconstruction since June 12 and will be closed to the public until late 2024.