Sheriff: Man Lit Dumpster Fire Outside Convenience Store To 'Run The Arabs Out Of Our Country'

PORT ST. LUCIE, FL — A man was arrested after he allegedly set a dumpster on fire and placed it in front of a convenience store in an attempt to "run the Arabs out of our country," the St. Lucie sheriff's office said.

According to the sheriff's office, authorities were called to the Met Mart convenience store Friday morning in reference to a white male in front of the store who was "acting suspicious." When deputies arrived on scene, they noticed the dumpster had been rolled in front of the doors of the convenience store and the dumpster contents had been lit on fire, the sheriff's office said.

When the man, identified as 64-year-old Richard Lloyd, saw deputies he allegedly put his hands up and said, "take me away."

Lloyd allegedly told deputies he pushed the dumpster to the front of the building, tore down signs posted to the front of the store and then lit the contents of the dumpster on fire to "run the Arabs out of our country." According to the sheriff's office, Lloyd told detectives he assumed the owner was Muslim and it made him mad because of "what they are doing in the Middle East."

St. Lucie sheriff Ken Mascara said in a press release that the store owners were in fact of Indian descent.

“It’s unfortunate that Mr. Lloyd made the assumption that the store owners were Arabic when, in fact, they are of Indian descent,” Mascara said. “Regardless, we will not tolerate violence based on age, race, color, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, homeless status, mental or physical disability.”

Lloyd's mental health will be evaluated and the state's attorney will be responsible for determining whether this was an intentional hate crime, the sheriff's office said. Lloyd was booked into jail in lieu of a $30,000 bond.

Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire and the store was closed at the time of the incident.

Images courtesy St Lucie Sheriff's Office