California arson arrest connected to mosque fire: paper

COACHELLA, Calif. (Reuters) - A 23-year-old man was in jail on Saturday on suspicion of arson and carrying out a hate crime, online jail records showed, an arrest that the Los Angeles Times reported was in connection with a fire at a Southern California mosque.

The Times, citing jail records and anonymous law enforcement sources, said the arrest on Friday was tied to a blaze at Islamic Society of the Coachella Valley in Riverside County. It identified the suspect as Carl Dial.

The fire erupted in the lobby of the mosque on Friday afternoon and was contained about 35 minutes later, officials with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department have said. The fire caused no injuries.

The incident heightened concerns about an anti-Islamic backlash in the wake of the Dec. 2 massacre of 14 people at a holiday party in San Bernardino, about 75 miles (121 km) northwest of Coachella, by a married couple who declared they were acting on behalf of the militant group Islamic State.

A spokesman for the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, which is leading the investigation into the fire, declined to confirm if Dial is a suspect in the fire.

The Sheriff's Department in a statement on Friday night said investigators were questioning a person of interest in connection with the blaze.

Online jail records for Dial showed he was arrested on Friday and later booked on suspicion of commission of a hate crime, arson, maliciously setting a fire and burglary.

The fire at the mosque charred its stucco front entrance, which had chunks of plaster torn out and was littered with debris.

(Additional reporting and writing by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Frank McGurty and David Gregorio)