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May 17, 2017 / 12:03 PM

Teenage suspect arrested in torching of NYC synagogue

A 14-year-old boy was charged with third-degree arson for a fire that destroyed Congregation Beth Hamedrash Hagadol synagogue in New York City on Sunday. It served Russian Orthodox Jews on Manhattan's Lower East Side after 1885. Photo courtesy Fire Department of New York/Twitter

A 14-year-old boy was charged with third-degree arson for a fire that destroyed Congregation Beth Hamedrash Hagadol synagogue in New York City on Sunday. It served Russian Orthodox Jews on Manhattan's Lower East Side after 1885. Photo courtesy Fire Department of New York/Twitter

May 17 (UPI) -- A teenage boy was charged with arson after a 19th century synagogue was destroyed by fire in New York City, law enforcement officers said.

The historic Congregation Beth Hamedrash Hagadol, built in the Gothic style on Manhattan's Lower East Side in 1850 originally as a Baptist church, was burned Sunday evening.

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The synagogue was the oldest in the United States for Russian Orthodox Jews, the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy said. It closed in 2007.

The unidentified 14-year-old suspect, charged as a minor with third-degree arson, was arrested Tuesday at his home near the site of the fire. Investigators say they do not consider the incident a hate crime.

Surveillance video indicates that several young people fled the area immediately after the fire broke out, police said. Two other suspects are also sought in the case.

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