WASHINGTON (AP) — A court hearing for an American University department head who was arrested and accused of breaking into a building near campus and setting a fire has been continued.

A preliminary hearing scheduled for Professor David Pitts in Superior Court in Washington on Monday was continued to Sept. 15, a court spokesman says.

Pitts is charged with burglary. A police report accuses Pitts of breaking into the Foxhall Square Shopping Mall early Thursday and setting a fire in its parking garage.

The university says Pitts is on leave until more is known about the matter, and the school is cooperating with the police investigation. Pitts had been chairman of AU’s Department of Public Administration and Policy. The university says his responsibilities have been reassigned.

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