<p>A 64-year-old man attempted to burn down a convenience store owned by the Indian-Americans in Florida as he mistakenly thought it was owned by Muslims.<br /><br />Richard Lloyd, who wanted to "run the Arabs out of our country", pushed a dumpster in front of the Port St Lucie store and set the contents on fire on Friday.<br /><br />The store was not open at the time of the incident and firefighters quickly extinguished the fire without it causing any property damage.<br /><br />"It's unfortunate that Mr Lloyd made the assumption that the store owners were Arabic when, in fact, they are of Indian descent," St Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara said.<br /><br />Mascara said Lloyd's mental health will be evaluated and the state attorney's office will decide if this was a hate crime.<br /><br />Lloyd told investigators he tried to buy a bottle of juice at the store a few days ago but was told they did not have any. He was also upset because he assumed the store employee was Muslim, CNN affiliate WPEC reported.<br /><br />He said he was angry with what followers of Islam "are doing in the Middle East" and thought the store owners were Muslims.<br /><br />Lloyd was charged with first degree arson and remained at the St Lucie County Jail in lieu of a USD 30,000 bond as of late yesterday, the news channel reported.<br /><br />He told investigators he "was doing my part for America," and planned to burn the entire building.<br /><br />Hate crimes against Muslims increased by over 65 per cent in 2015, according to the FBI statistics.<br /><br />Some religious leaders attribute the crime spike to the rise of President Donald Trump, who critics say fuelled Islamophobia and racism as a candidate.</p>
<p>A 64-year-old man attempted to burn down a convenience store owned by the Indian-Americans in Florida as he mistakenly thought it was owned by Muslims.<br /><br />Richard Lloyd, who wanted to "run the Arabs out of our country", pushed a dumpster in front of the Port St Lucie store and set the contents on fire on Friday.<br /><br />The store was not open at the time of the incident and firefighters quickly extinguished the fire without it causing any property damage.<br /><br />"It's unfortunate that Mr Lloyd made the assumption that the store owners were Arabic when, in fact, they are of Indian descent," St Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara said.<br /><br />Mascara said Lloyd's mental health will be evaluated and the state attorney's office will decide if this was a hate crime.<br /><br />Lloyd told investigators he tried to buy a bottle of juice at the store a few days ago but was told they did not have any. He was also upset because he assumed the store employee was Muslim, CNN affiliate WPEC reported.<br /><br />He said he was angry with what followers of Islam "are doing in the Middle East" and thought the store owners were Muslims.<br /><br />Lloyd was charged with first degree arson and remained at the St Lucie County Jail in lieu of a USD 30,000 bond as of late yesterday, the news channel reported.<br /><br />He told investigators he "was doing my part for America," and planned to burn the entire building.<br /><br />Hate crimes against Muslims increased by over 65 per cent in 2015, according to the FBI statistics.<br /><br />Some religious leaders attribute the crime spike to the rise of President Donald Trump, who critics say fuelled Islamophobia and racism as a candidate.</p>