A man in his 20s is accused of defacing gravestones on the Providence College campus.

Providence police said they arrested the man who they said painted swastikas on gravestones at the Dominican Community Cemetery at about 9:30 p.m. Monday.

They said the man also tried setting the area around the gravestones on fire and that he assaulted a security guard who tried to confront him.

The suspect was identified by the Providence Police Department as 26-year-old Keveon Gomera.  

A witness spoke with NBC 10's Jared Pelletier and told him the hate message might have been pointed in another direction.

The witness, who only wanted to be identified as Philip, believes he and some friends came into contact with Gomera.

"We we're walking inside the campus last night and we ran into a gentleman. He had a bucket, a small bucket of paint, in his hands. He was just talking about PC being part of, like, the slave plantations. We didn’t really pay attention to what he was saying, but the last thing he said to us was that he was going to go burn the American flag somewhere on campus," said Philip.

A couple of minutes later after walking away, Phillip said: "We turned around and we saw that the cemetery on campus had like little fires on the ground."

A different witness provided NBC 10 with a picture that showed the cleanup process. The witness did not want to be identified but says the cleanup crew said small flags in the area of the gravestones were burned.

Providence police say they arrested Gomera around 9:30 Tuesday night after finding him hiding in shrubs on campus.

Gomera is charged with Vandalism and Assault with Intent to Commit a Felony. 

Providence College sent out a statement about the incident saying in part that it  "loudly and unequivocally condemn this racist, anti-Semitic and anti-Catholic action, and the desecration of the gravestones of our beloved, deceased Dominicans who served Providence College so well and so faithfully for many years."

The college also says that a public safety officer was struck by the suspect and was transported to a hospital for care.

The campus was put on lock down while the Providence Police Department searched for the suspect. The all-clear was given at 11:17 p.m. said the school.

Jared Pelletier contributed to this report.