Six black churches from five states reported fires in a span of eight days, raising concerns of a possible pattern of hate crimes targeting churches with predominantly black congregations.
The nighttime fires occurred less than two weeks after the Charleston, S.C., church shooting, and in the midst of the Confederate flag debates in southern cities. Although the causes of the fires were different, the fact that they occurred within eight days prompted investigators to look more closely, according to ABC News.
The first fire happened at College Hill Seventh Day Adventist Church in Knoxville, Tenn., on June 22. Authorities said that stacks of hay and bags of compost were placed outside the church's door and set on fire. A van belonging to the church was also burned down, reported WATE-TV.
"When I look at this, I see, I think of an intention to try to destroy this entire church. It's sad either way that someone would put their mind to try to damage a church that's trying to help people," said Pastor Cleveland Hobdy III, according to WATE-TV.
However, the Knoxville Police Department ruled out hate crime and classified the incident as vandalism because no message or motive against the church was found.
The second fire happened at God's Power Church of Christ in Macon, Ga., on June 23. Assistant Pastor Jeanette Dudley was awakened by a phone call at 5 a.m. with news that the church was on fire. She went to the site and saw it being engulfed in flames, reported the New York Daily News.
"The times we're living in... it's not going to get any better. It's going to get worse," said Dudley. "It saddened my heart that this sort of thing was happening. I couldn't believe it even though I was looking at it."
The fire was determined as arson, according to the N.Y. Daily News.
On the same day, Fruitland Presbyterian Church in Gibson County, Tenn., was set ablaze, but investigators have not released any statement about the cause of the fire. Some residents said there were lightning strikes in the area before the fire happened, reported ABC News.
Briar Creek Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C., had one of its wings burned down on June 24. Investigators said the incident was arson.
"The next step is identifying who did it," said Cynthia Robbins Shah-Khan, Charlotte fire spokeswoman. Investigators are now identifying possible suspects. "We are looking for help from community," she said, according to NBC News.
On June 26, two more churches reported fires. One was Glover Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Warrenville, S.C. The other was Greater Miracle Temple in Tallahassee, Fla. Investigations about both fires are still underway.
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is looking into the fires that happened at these black churches. "At this time, ATF has not determined the fires are related," said an official for the ATF, according to ABC News. "We are still determining origin and cause so we cannot say all are arson."
