New York City police said Monday they have made an arrest in connection with a fire set inside a chapel holding the unidentified remains of victims of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
Police identified the suspect as Brian Schroeder, 26, and said charges are still pending in connection with the Saturday-morning incident at the site, known as Memorial Park.
A fire department spokesman said firefighters reached the east Manhattan site at about 9 a.m. to find smoke damage as well as minor damage to chapel benches and mementos left by family members of the victims. However, none of the roughly 10,000 remains inside a climate-controlled vault was damaged.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg dedicated the space for families in 2002 so they can leave flowers, pictures and other mementos on the benches inside and outside the chapel.
“Anyone who would set fire to the inviolable Memorial Park chapel is craven and contemptible,” Mr. Bloomberg said in a statement. “Fire marshals and police will investigate this aggressively and bring whoever is responsible to justice.”
Mr. Schroeder turned himself in to police Saturday evening. Police said they have no motive and are unsure how Mr. Schroeder gained access to the site, which is limited to family members by appointment and requires an ID card for access.
News reports state Mr. Schroeder says he acted on a drunken dare. He graduated this year from Harvard Law School, according the school’s independent newspaper, the Harvard Law Record.
The remains will stay at the park, at 30th Street and FDR Drive, for several more years, until they are moved to the permanent memorial at Ground Zero, according to New York City government.
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