Fire damages Bellevue mosque a year after arsonist set fire to it



BELLEVUE, Wash. - A fire ripped through a mosque Wednesday that a homeless man set on fire last year.

Bellevue police and firefighters responded to the Islamic Center of Eastside in the 14700 block of Main St. at around 4:15 p.m. By 5:10 p.m., the fire was under control.

No one was hurt. The cause of the fire was under investigation.

Bellevue firefighters said the building had been vacant since the previous fire.  Isaac Wayne Wilson, a 37-year-old homeless man, pleaded guilty in September to setting the mosque on fire last January.

Charging documents say, Wilson, who has an extensive history of mental illness and property damage, was found in a parking lot behind the mosque, staring at the fire in that case.  When approached by police, documents say he calmly said, “I did it.”

Police said there’s no indication that Wednesday's fire was intentionally set or a hate crime.