Florida arson suspect thought Indian store owners were Muslim

Richard Lloyd, 64, believed the owners of a convenience store in Port St. Lucie were Muslim and that reportedly prompted him to burn the store down. Not realizing they were actually of Indian descent, Lloyd reportedly pushed a dumpster in front of the store and set the contents alight on Friday morning.

After he was arrested, he told police deputies that he did this because he wanted to run Arabs out of the U.S. Luckily the fire was quickly put out and not much damage was caused. However, the store was closed and security shutters were put up to deter looting.

Lloyd was angry at what Muslims are doing in the Middle East

St. Lucie County Sheriff, Ken Mascara, said in a Facebook news release that Lloyd had assumed the owners were Muslim, and said this angered him, due to what Muslims are doing in the Middle East. Mascara went on to say that it was unfortunate that Lloyd made the wrong assumption about the nationality of the owners of the convenience store, as they are of Indian descent.

CNN reported that Mascara went on to say they will be evaluating Lloyd’s mental health and reportedly the state attorney’s office will investigate and decide whether the arson attempt was a hate crime.

Arson suspect unable to buy the juice he wanted from the store

As for Lloyd himself, he told the police he had tried to purchase a bottle of Tropicana orange pineapple juice at the Met Mart a few days prior to the incident, but they told him it wasn’t in stock.

However, he was also upset, as he assumed the person behind the counter was Muslim.

The Washington Post reports he then decided he was going to burn the building down, saying he would be doing his part for America. He then returned to the store, pushing the dumpster in front of the building and lighting the contents on fire.

Lloyd also, reportedly tore down signs outside the convenience store.

Reportedly when deputies arrived on the scene on Friday morning, Lloyd immediately put his hands behind his back, telling them to take him away. He has now been charged with first-degree arson and was locked up in the St. Lucia County Jail on a $30,000 bond.