Baltimore, Maryland: Man Charged With Arson After Mosque Fire on Harford Road

A man has been charged with arson after a fire left a mosque in Northeast Baltimore fully engulfed in flames on Sunday evening, police said. Firefighters put the fire out in less than half an hour and no one was injured, but the congregation now faces heavy damage to a building its leaders say worshippers have used since 1980.

What police say happened

Police and fire crews went to the 2600 block of Harford Road shortly after 5 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 25, and found the mosque fully engulfed, Baltimore police said in a news release. Firefighters extinguished the fire just before 5:30 p.m., officials said. The mosque stands near Gorsuch Avenue in the Coldstream Homestead Montebello neighborhood, about a block from Clifton Park, on a stretch of Harford Road lined with rowhomes, small businesses, restaurants and other houses of worship. Police gave only the block in their release and did not name the mosque.

The charges

Officers took Shawn Fenner, 52, into custody on Sunday evening, police said. By Monday, police had confirmed that Fenner faces charges of second degree arson, first degree malicious burning and reckless endangerment, along with other charges. WBFF listed five offenses in all, adding threat of arson and malicious destruction of property involving $1,000 or more. That dollar figure is part of the property destruction charge. It is not an estimate of what repairs to the mosque will cost, and no repair cost has been released. The Baltimore Banner reported on Monday evening that the charges were not yet available in online court records. Fenner is accused of setting the fire. He has not been convicted, and prosecutors still have to prove the charges in court.

What investigators have not said

Agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Baltimore police arson investigators believe the fire was deliberately set, according to WBAL-TV. Police have still described the cause of the fire as under investigation, and investigators have not publicly said how the fire started. No motive has been announced.

Assistant imam Abdul Muhaimin Abdullah told WBAL-TV that Fenner was familiar to some worshippers. "From what I understand, he's a member of the mosque," Abdullah said. He called the building a place of peace where people come for fellowship, and said of the damage, "This set us back." Abdullah said the congregation has been at the site since 1980 and that this was its first incident of this kind. Whether services can continue in the building, and what repairs will require, had not been announced by Tuesday.