A 37-year-old homeless man, Isaac Wayne Wilson, reportedly admitted to the police of burning down the Eastside Islamic center, known as Bellevue mosque, located on Main Street, Bellevue, Washington.
The fire started in the early hours of Saturday Morning, 14th January, at around 2:30 am. A local resident spotted the flames at the mosque at approximately 2:44 am and contacted the fire department. The fire was ignited at the back of the building and flames reached heights of 40feet.
Eastside Mosque in Bellevue, Washington burned to the ground.
— Arif (@Atozai) January 16, 2017
You won't hear about this in the MSM.#Islamophobia
pic.twitter.com/CbhXlcND3c
The Bellevue Fire Department tackled the blaze but unfortunately, the building suffered heavy structural damage and is currently unusable.
Isaac was spotted laying on the floor in a nearby parking lot a police officer approached and Isaac was heard saying "I did it". police documents revealed. The Bellevue police arrested Isaac and stated that he has a strong odor of gasoline. There currently no motive for the fire.
Isaac Wayne Wilson was charged with second-degree arson, due to the significance of the damage to the building his bail was set at $1 million.
The mosque has started a campaign on LaunchGood to receive donations to rebuild the mosque. They have currently received over $250,000 for their $500,000 goal from 3598 supporters in just over 3 days.