Ahem.... it is 2015 in much of America: It's still 1963 in the South, apparently.
Following the Attack on Emanuel AME, Two Recent Fires at Black Churches Strike at the Heart of Black America
In Charlotte, N.C., authorities say a June 24 fire at Briar Creek Baptist Church was the result of arson and is being investigated as a possible hate crime. NBC News reported that more than 75 firefighters were needed to extinguish the three-alarm fire, and an hour passed before the blaze was under control. Two firefighters received medical treatment for heat-related injuries. The church sustained $250,000 in damage, including a collapsed ceiling and significant damage to a space used for a children’s summer camp. The sanctuary was spared, sustaining smoke damage along with the gymnasium.
A June 23 fire at God’s Power Church of Christ, a predominantly Black church in Macon, Ga., has been ruled as arson, although there is no indication it was a hate crime. As was reported in the Macon Telegraph, the front doors of the church were locked and wired shut when authorities arrived, but a side door was unlocked. The Federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives was called, as is the case with church fires, and authorities also noted that electronics and other air conditioning equipment had been stolen from the church in two burglaries. A $10,000 reward is available through the Georgia Arson Hotline for information leading to the arrest of an arsonist.
According to
this report at Raw Story 'hate crime' has yet to be suggested to determined
Macon-Bibb County fire Sergeant Ben Gleaton told the newspaper that while the investigation into Tuesday’s fire at the God’s Power Church of Christ continues, enough evidence had been discovered to rule the blaze had been deliberately set.
The arson ruling came a day after North Carolina authorities said a predominantly black church in Charlotte was purposefully burned, and roughly a week after a white gunman opened fire in an African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina, killing nine people.
- - - -
Gleaton told the Telegraph newspaper there was nothing yet to suggest that the fire at the Macon church was a hate crime.
.
And today, Early Morning Fire Destroys Tallahassee Church
June 26, 2015
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- An early morning fire has destroyed a Tallahassee church.
Firefighters responded to the blaze around 5:20 a.m. at Greater Miracle Apostolic Holiness Church near the intersection of Wakulla Street and Campbell Street.
No one is believed to have been in the church at the time of the fire. Power lines were also down in the area.
The church was described as completely destroyed on the inside.
South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida*. [UPDATE 11:49 am]
Florida fire, per an update a few minutes ago (1128 am EST) is that the fire was electrical, caused by a limb falling on power lines. Title updated to reflect this.
Just a bunch of coincidences?
I, of course, think not.
What are the FBI and the N$A doing to deal with what would appear to even the dullest creature as a pattern ?
Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Louisiana should be considering increasing surveillance on their black churches.
[UPDATE]
Make that 4 Black Churches
South Carolina, again.
FBI called in on Aiken County church fire
Multiple agencies, including the FBI, are investigating a fire that destroyed an Aiken County church.
Midland Valley firefighters were called to the fire at Glover Grove Baptist Church on Project Road in Warrenville about 3:30 a.m. When they arrived the fire was already fully involved, according to a sheriff’s office news release. It took about an hour to extinguish the flames.
Forensic investigators, along with the South Carolina Highway Patrol and the FBI, are investigating to determine the origin of the fire.
h/t
mcpeg
