A 52-year-old man is facing arson-related charges after allegedly threatening to burn down a Baltimore mosque in text messages before a fire engulfed the building on Oct. 25, according to charging documents obtained by CBS News Baltimore.
Shawn Fenner was denied bond Tuesday on charges including second-degree arson, first-degree malicious burning and threat of arson in connection with the fire.
Baltimore police officers and firefighters responded at around 5 p.m. to a blaze at a mosque in the 2600 block of Harford Road. The building was fully engulfed in flames when emergency crews arrived.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze, and police took Fenner into custody at the scene after two witnesses identified him, according to the charging documents.
Text Messages Allegedly Contained Threats Against Mosque
Investigators said Fenner sent text messages to a mosque member before the fire, including a photograph of a red gas can. According to the charging documents, police noted that a partially visible shoe in the image appeared to match the shoes Fenner was wearing when officers took him into custody.
Fenner had previously stayed at the mosque but was no longer allowed on the property, the documents said. He later sent another message demanding the return of a set of keys and allegedly threatened to burn down the property if the keys were not returned.
Police also used a canine during the investigation. According to the charging documents, the dog alerted to the possible presence of an ignitable fluid on Fenner’s shoes.
The allegations are detailed in the original CBS News Baltimore report on the mosque fire and arson charges.
Mosque Was Empty When Fire Broke Out
Abdul Muhaimin Abdullah, the mosque’s assistant imam, told CBS News Baltimore that he believed Fenner had been experiencing mental health struggles.
“I was told that he was an OK gentleman. Now we recognize that he has some mental issues and unfortunately we couldn’t assist in a time that we could have if we were informed to get him the proper help,” Abdullah said.
No one was inside the mosque when the fire broke out, according to the report. The blaze caused an estimated $85,000 in damage.
Fenner faces multiple charges related to the incident. The allegations outlined in the charging documents have not, by themselves, established guilt.
