YPSILANTI, Mich. (AP) — Authorities say they’ve identified a 16-year-old boy as a suspect in a fire that destroyed a mosque in Michigan.
The Pittsfield Township Department of Public Safety said in a statement that authorities are not investigating the fire as a hate crime. The statement says the decision followed a “thorough review of evidence and investigative information.”
Saturday’s fire destroyed the Islamic Center of Ypsilanti in the Washtenaw County community of Pittsfield Township. An investigation involving police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI identified the teen as a suspect in that fire and another fire Feb. 27 at a vacant house.
Police say the teen and his parents cooperated with investigators. The Ann Arbor News reports he has been released from custody, pending charges.
