Parish announcements and a lectionary were burned in the small chapel Saint-Jean in the district of Péré, the lower town of Saint-Sever. Additionally, the monstrance was broken and a cross was thrown into a confessional. The vandalism occurred on the same day as the school fire of Toulouzette Park school in Saint-Sever. Police investigated a connection between the two incidents.
On the 4th of September 2018 the police arrested a 28-year-old suspect. He acknowledged his actions at the arrest and explained that he had schizophrenic and paranoid disorders. An expert doctor testified that the suspect had been suffering from mental illness at the time of the incidents and that he was dangerous. The suspect was subjected to forced hospitalization at the request of the mayor and was transferred to a psychiatric hospital.
Sources: Sud Ouest here and here, Ouest France, franceinfo, La Depeche, france bleu, La Rép des Pyrénées and 3 nouvelle aquitaine.