A fire that engulfed a church with a primarily African-American congregation in Charlotte, N.C., early Wednesday morning has been ruled as arson, fire officials said.
"We completed our work on the scene and determined this was intentionally set," Charlotte Fire Department Senior Fire Investigator David Williams said.
Investigators are now trying to determine whether or not the fire can also be considered a hate crime, reports the Baptist Press.
The fire, at the Briar Creek Baptist Church, was estimated to have caused more than $250,000 worth of damage, the Charlotte Fire Department said in a statement.
The department said the flames were brought under control within about an hour and 15 minutes, but one firefighter was taken to a local hospital and another was treated on scene after battling the blaze amid "extremely hot and humid conditions," according to Reuters.
Fortunately no one was inside the church at the time, and no "serious" damage was done. No damage was done to the altar so services are expected to resume as usual. The majority of the damage was done to a space used for youth activities - 30 children woke up Thursday morning with no place to attend summer camp, according to The Christian Science Monitor.
Authorities in Charlotte are still looking for a suspect.
