KENDALL, Fla. --
Miami-Dade Country police arrested two teenagers on Tuesday in connection with a fire at a Kendall church.
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Police said surveillance video showed images of the two teenagers entering Saint Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in the 9200 block of Southwest 107th Avenue near Miami-Dade College's Kendall campus.
Police said 33 seconds after 15-year-old Mario Paz and 14-year-old Daniel Ocampo left, the fire began.
"As they leave, you see the fire spread throughout the establishment," said Juan Villalba of the Miami-Dade Police Department.
The teens were charged with first-degree arson. They're being held at the Juvenile Assessment Center.
Ocampo's mother went to court for him on Wednesday as he stayed at the juvenile facility.
The judge said the charges against her son are so serious that he could be charged as an adult.
"Ma'am, based upon the nature of the charges, he's going to have to spend 21 days in secured detention," the judge told Ocampo's mother.
The judge said the state attorney needed additional time to complete the investigation and to decide whether to file charges in juvenile or adult court.
The fire started on Friday in a small inner chapel inside St. Catherine. A passerby saw the heavy smoke and called 911.
Miami-Dade County Fire Rescue arrived at the scene quickly, but police said the fire still caused $800,000 in damage. The chapel, a small structure within the church, was destroyed.
It took 40 firefighters about 30 minutes to put out the flames.
Because of the damage, parishioners on Palm Sunday celebrated mass outside the church.
"It's sad that something like this would happen during Holy Week," said parishioner Ricardo Kowalchuk.
Kowalchuk and his wife said they got married and baptized their first child at St. Catherine of Siena.
"Those boys had a lack of education and a lack of manners," said parishioner Soraya Kowalchuk. "It's deliquence."
One of the teens accused of the arson lives less than 100 yards from the church in the Spanish Trace apartment complex.
Police said they're not sure of the pair's motive in setting the fire. They said it was unclear if Paz and Ocampo were parishioners at the church pulling a prank, or if they were two teenagers who wanted to wreak havoc in their own neighborhood.
The pastor at the church said he didn't recognize either of the teens.
