The Philadelphia man arrested in connection to an arson at an Islamic center in Northeast Philly has been indicted on a civil rights charge, according to the Department of Justice.
Vincent Lang, 60, was charged with one count of malicious damage by means of fire to a building used in interstate commerce and one count of damage to a religious real property, officials said.
The July 5 fire at the Northeast Philadelphia Islamic Center, located in the 1400 block of Tyson Avenue, was targeted in what officials described as an arson attack. In the aftermath, officials said, “a masked individual lit something in a bag and threw it” inside the building.
No one was injured, but officials said “significant damage” was done to the building. A quick-thinking passerby helped prevent the fire from spreading, mosque leadership said.
Video footage gathered from several surveillance cameras on the property showed a man “igniting a suspected improvised incendiary device,” throwing it inside the building, and then leaving, officials said.
Lang was taken into custody on Thursday, July 16 and has been held since.
If convicted, Lang could serve between five to 40 years in prison.