The Las Olas Chabad Jewish Center in Florida was set aflame Saturday morning in an act of arson, The Jerusalem Post reported.
The building’s synagogue, Hebrew school and community center were all ravaged by the flames, the outlet noted. (RELATED:REPORT: Mob Torches Historic Synagogue In Tunisia)
The Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue shared photos of the impacted Jewish community center Saturday on Facebook.
The entire incident started with the Rabbi’s van being set on fire and the flames from the vehicle spilling over into the community center, Fox News reported.
“Everything is still fresh, a lot of emotions,” Rabbi Chaim Slavaticki told the outlet about the incident.
“It was a clearly targeted attack on our facility and our Community,” the Chabad said, the Jerusalem Post reported. The man allegedly responsible for the arson is a 50-year-old man, according to Fort Lauderdale Police spokesperson Casey Liening told the Daily Caller in an emailed statement. Police arrested and charged him with two counts of arson, criminal mischief and possession of cocaine “within hours of the incident”, according to the statement. The suspect, according to Liening, “appears to suffer [from] mental illness.”
“Based on the information we have at this time, this incident is believed to be an isolated incident by a known individual and is NOT considered a hate crime,” Liening added. The suspect was previously accused of trespassing on the property and has a record of trespassing and drug charges, according to court documents cited by the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
No bond has been set as of late Sunday. Las Olas Chabad said it wants to rebuild the center, which will cost $1 million, according to The Jerusalem Post.
“Despite the tremendous setback this will cause, we will rebuild our home!” the Chabad said.