SANFORD, Fla. (WSVN) — A Georgia man who was arrested over the weekend set fire to a Buddhist temple near Orlando, police said, and the unholy act was recorded on video.
Surveillance cameras rolled as Singhasouk “Danny” Phanouvong damaged priceless relics at the Wat Navaram Buddhist Temple in Sanford, Saturday night.
Moments later, the 51-year-old suspect is seen setting ablaze the area of the temple known as the daily worship hall, which also serves as a residential area.
Authorities said Phanouvong fueled the fire with items from inside, including electronic, igniting the blaze to the point of small explosions.
The house of worship’s red ceiling was left blackened by the flames.
The temple’s attorney, Joe Panyanouvong, said the suspect also tried to disable a van used by monks for transportation, causing significant damage.
“He took a lot of concrete items from here and threw them into the van, broke all the van’s windows out. He used it to, I believe, break into the main residential area as well,” said Panyanouvong.
Overall, Panyanouvong said, damages and repair costs could reach into the tens of thousands of dollars.
“Everybody’s in shock, and everybody’s sad, especially knowing that the person who did this was once a member of our temple,” he said. “It appears to be some type of mental health problem, mental health crisis.”
Panyanouvong stressed that the suspect’s family had nothing to do with this and did not know about it.
The attorney said Phanouvong moved to Atlanta 10 years ago but drove all the way to Sanford, where he’s accused of causing this devastation.
The most concerning part, Panyanouvong said, is that a wheelchair-bound monk was inside an apartment on the property at the time and was trapped during the fire.
The monk, who was visiting from Thailand, was not hurt and was safely removed from the apartment while another monk called 911.
Panyanouvong said that while there is no clear motive, he believes the arson attack was targeted.
“We have two worship halls. One is the main worship hall here, which is used for big events, but he targeted the hall that is used daily, every day,” he said. “It’s kind of shattered [the moks’] peace and shattered their sense of safety here.”
Panyanouvong was charged with first-degree arson, burglary of an unoccupied dwelling, criminal mischief to a religious property, fleeing and eluding law enforcement at high speed and resisting an officer with violence. He is being held without bond.
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