East Sussex Mosque Arson: Arrest Made Amid Ongoing Investigation
The man has been taken into custody after a fire broke out at a mosque in Peacehaven, East Sussex, late on Saturday night. Sussex Police confirmed the arrest on Monday and said the investigation remains ongoing.
Emergency services were called to the mosque on Phyllis Avenue at around 21:50 BST, where the front entrance and a car parked outside were found damaged. No injuries were reported, but two people who were inside the building at the time managed to escape through the front door.
Officers had earlier released CCTV images of two suspects in connection with the incident. Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cullimore from the Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team said the inquiry was “progressing at pace” and that police were “pursuing all lines of enquiry to identify those responsible for this appalling and reckless attack.”
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Police confirmed on Sunday that the fire is being investigated as a hate crime.
Superintendent Rachel Swinney said there would be “additional patrols taking place at places of worship across Sussex to provide visibility and reassurance.” She added that officers are working closely with religious communities “to support them and ensure their concerns are heard and acted upon.”
Khuram Kiani, one of the mosque’s founding members, described the fire as an “unfortunate, terrifying, shocking” event.
He told the BBC that in more than 30 years of living in the area, he had never witnessed anything like it. Kiani praised emergency services for their quick response and said the mosque would remain closed to children until safety could be ensured.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesperson called the incident “appalling,” emphasizing that “an attack on Muslims is an attack on all Britons.”
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A fundraising campaign has since been launched to help rebuild the mosque and repair the damage.
The mosque fire occurred just two days after a deadly knife attack at a synagogue in Manchester, described by authorities as a terrorist incident. The differing classifications of the two attacks — one as terrorism and the other as a hate crime — have sparked debate and criticism among social media users.
Source: Agencies
