A woman has been arrested in connection with a fire that seriously damaged a historic synagogue in New Britain, Connecticut.
Kimorah Parker, 30, was charged with arson and burglary in the third degree. She is suspected of intentionally setting fire to Congregation Tephereth Israel and later setting fire to St. Matthew's Lutheran Church.
While the damage to the church was described as minimal, the synagogue was extensively damaged, according to Fox61.
Congregation Tephereth Israel, which has been in its current building since 1925, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The synagogue is now reportedly boarded up, with an engineer set to determine whether it will be possible to save the building.
“I am happy to report that we have the suspect in custody who will be charged with arson in relation to both fires,” New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart tweeted. “Proud of the hard work that [New Britain Police Department] and [New Britain Fire Department] do to keep us safe.”
The StopAntisemitism organization called the the synagogue arson “horrifying.”
Connecticut state police fire investigators and the explosion unit are also working on the investigation.