Fire investigators believe they know who set fire to a Marietta mosque earlier this week.
Authorities have charged Tamsir Lucien Mendy, 26, with arson. Investigators said Mendy is a member of the congregation.
Assistant Chief Scott Tucker said authorities found vandalism inside the mosque where a fire erupted just after midnight Tuesday. He would not specify what type of vandalism it was.
Flames raced through the front entrance and damaged the prayer hall at the mosque on Powder Springs Street in Marietta.
The damage to the mosque was extensive. The fire destroyed the front entrance of Masjid Al Head just after a group of Muslim men wrapped up their last prayer and left for the evening.
“We locked the door and everything and we left and suddenly he called me and said, ‘There’s fire,’” said Iman Hafiz Inayatullah of Nashid Al Head.
“One of them happened to come back by after they left and observed the smoke. He got closer and noticed the structure was on fire,” said Assistant Chief Mark Anderson of the Marietta Fire Department.
Arson investigators went through the building looking for a cause.
Tucker said Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents and the Georgia Fire Marshal’s Office are assisting with the investigation.
No one was injured.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations is calling on the FBI to investigate.
“Given the recent wave of incidents targeting American mosques, a possible bias motive for this apparent arson attack must be considered,” said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. “Unfortunately, there is a vocal minority in our society promoting anti-Muslim bigotry, and that minority is experiencing little or no pushback from mainstream religious and political leaders.”