A long-time Silver Spring barbershop was gutted by fire early Thursday and arson investigators are searching for a man who was seen in front of the store with a baseball bat shortly before the blaze erupted.

An employee of Ebony Unisex Barbers said the fire could have stemmed from an argument with between a shop worker and someone else, according to Montgomery County Police Spokeswoman Lucille Baur.

Michael Bailey—a co-owner—of the shop was distraught Thursday morning as he described a series of acts of vandalism that began on Thursday, June 14.

“We replaced the glass that Friday morning. Then Sunday night they started a fire again. They poured gasoline to start a fire which cracked the new [store-front] glass and the door glass. So we replaced the glass that Monday and here we are again,” he said.

Montgomery County Police were dispatched to the business for vandalism around midnight Wednesday evening by a witness who saw a man with a baseball bat in front of the business, Baur added.

The man who was seen is described as a black man standing 5-feet, 10 inches to 6-feet tall weighing between 180 and 200 pounds. He was last seen dressed all in black with a hooded sweatshirt and baseball cap.

The fire at the 20-year-old shop has been confirmed by Montgomery County Fire and Rescue (MCFR) as an act of arson, MCFR Spokesman Capt. Oscar Garcia said.

Montgomery County Police investigators will most likely be investigating the blaze in a joint investigation with fire investigators, but the Office of the Fire Marshal will officially take the lead to find the cause, officials said.

Ebony Unisex Barbers, located at 936 Bonifant St.

Anyone with information about the fire is asked to call the arson tipline at (240) 777-2263.