A Philadelphia man accused of setting a mosque on fire allegedly commented about a video of the attack on Facebook, leading to a federal charge, the NBC10 Investigators have learned. Vincent Lang, 60, of Philadelphia, faces a federal charge of maliciously damaging or destroying, or attempting to damage or destroy, by means of fire, any building or property used in interstate commerce, records said. The July 5 fire at the Northeast Philadelphia Islamic Center, located in the 1400 block of Tyson Avenue, was targeted in what officials described as an arson attack. In the aftermath, officials said, “a masked individual lit something in a bag and threw it” inside the building. No one was injured, but officials said “significant damage” was done to the building. A quick-thinking passerby helped prevent the fire from spreading, mosque leadership said. Video footage gathered from several surveillance cameras on the property showed a man “igniting a suspected improvised incendiary device,” throwing it inside the building, and then leaving, officials said. Credit: City of Philadelphia Real Time Crime Credit: City of Philadelphia Real Time Crime On July 7, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigators identified Lang as a possible suspect. According to investigators, they received information that Lang drives a car with “handwritten anti-Islamic rhetoric on the rear window,” documents said. “The information also relayed that Lang was outspoken in his anti-Islamic and other racist views, and had discussed using fire to damage mosques,” the documents said. “The information provided was that Lang had also admitted to causing the fire at the Northeast Philadelphia Islamic Center.” Investigators later found the car parked at Lang’s home and observed the anti-Islamic messages, they said. A search of Lang’s phone records showed his iPhone was in the area of the mosque at the time of the fire and that the device later returned to Lang’s home, documents said. After the fire, a Facebook profile reportedly belonging to Lang included comments on posts involving the surveillance video. “How can it be a hate crime? They might have done it out of love [red heart emoji],” officials said one comment read. “Love for country and love for the children of the neighborhood.” Other surveillance video obtained as part of the investigation captured a car similar to Lang’s, officials said. The ATF was offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case. It was unclear whether the reward would be awarded following Lang’s arrest. “ATF places a priority on investigating houses of worship fires, and we bring all our considerable resources to the table for incidents like this,” Eric DeGree, special agent in charge of the ATF Philadelphia Field Division, said in a statement. It was not immediately clear if Lang was in custody on Thursday. The Philadelphia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, also known as CAIR-Philadelphia, was also offering a $2,500 reward for information that led to an arrest and conviction. Anyone who may have additional information on this incident is asked to contact ATF at 1-888-283-8477, e-mail [email protected], or visit the ATF’s website. You can also contact the Philadelphia Police Department’s tip line at 215-686-TIPS (8477) or CAIR-Philadelphia by texting 215-253-3608 or by calling 267-515-6710. ...read more read less