Police on Wednesday arrested and charged 37-year-old Gary Nathaniel Moore with arson following a fire on Christmas day at a mosque in Houston, according to local television station KTRK.
According to a court filing by the police, Moore used a charcoal lighter to set fires in five different places in the mosque. Police used surveillance footage to identify the suspect, and then searched Moore’s home, according to the court filing. Police found a charcoal lighter in the home that appears to be part of a pair, one of which was found at the mosque.
Moore told police that he was a regular attendee at the Houston mosque — he prayed at the mosque five times a day, seven days a week, and had attended for five years, according to the court filing.
MJ Khan, president of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston, which operates the mosque, told the Houston Chronicle that he was not familiar with Moore.
The fire at the mosque caused significant damage to the building, but nobody was injured in the fire.
