Afshin Bahrampour, who appears on the Las Vegas registered sex offenders list, was arrested on several counts of arson and burglary Monday night after he allegedly set two fires at a central Las Vegas synagogue.
Bahrampour, 47, was booked into Clark County Detention Center and was charged with one count of arson in the first degree, three counts of arson in the third degree and one count of burglary.
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Las Vegas FBI and Metro Police investigators are probing the incident, FBI spokeswoman Sandra Breault said. As of this afternoon, “I cannot confirm that it is being investigated as a hate crime,” she added. Investigators are assessing the situation to see how the suspect will be charged, either on a state or federal level, Breault said. About 8 p.m. firefighters responded to a car fire in the parking lot of the Chabad of Southern Nevada-Desert Torah Academy at 1261 Arville Street near Charleston Boulevard, officials said. While firefighters were cleaning up after the car fire, witnesses who were inside the synagogue told them there was an earlier wastebasket fire inside the building around 6 p.m. Since both fires happened in a short amount of time and at a house of worship, the Fire Department contacted Metro Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to assist with the investigation, officials said. h/t lasvegassun
Surveillance video showed Bahrampour on the property both times. Investigators then checked the parking lot of the shopping center across the street and found him. After him he was arrested and charged according to officials.