A man who police said appeared to “have mental health issues” was arrested Saturday afternoon after he set a small fire inside the Cathedral of St. Paul.
People in the cathedral quickly put out the fire and held the man until police arrived, said police spokesman Steve Linders. There was no damage.
The man was found to be carrying a paper bag “with a Bible and a Qur’an tied together with wire inside,” Linders said. A police bomb squad responded as a precaution, he said, but the objects in the bag were determined to be harmless personal possessions.
The suspect will undergo a mental health evaluation, Linders said.
For a time, roads near the cathedral were closed.
PAMELA MILLER
