BELLEVUE, Wash. — A man is in custody after a suspicious fire severely damaged a Washington state mosque over the weekend.

The fire was reported early Saturday at the Islamic Center of the Eastside in Bellevue. Authorities say that as firefighters doused the blaze, police found a man near the building and arrested him for investigation of arson.

He was identified as 37-year-old Isaac Wayne Wilson. Investigators said Wilson apparently acted alone and said he is believed to be mentally disturbed. They said the suspect told police that people were trying to kill him.

The mosque was unoccupied at the time, and no injuries were reported.

A motive for the attack has not been determined, but police said an investigation is continuing. The Washington chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said that because of the suspect’s background, it did not know whether the attack was motivated by religious bias.

Mosque officials issued an appeal for donations to help rebuild the mosque and said they are planning a new one that will be bigger and better.

There have been repeated incidents of threats and vandalism at the Bellevue mosque and others in recent months.

A man was charged last week with a hate crime for threatening people there Jan. 6, and a granite sign outside the Muslim Association of Puget Sound in neighboring Redmond was damaged twice.

Associated Press