A representative of a Washington state congregation says church members are saddened by the hateful act of vandalism someone committed inside their sanctuary.
According to a report from KOMO television, someone set the alter of St. Francis Cabrini Parish in Lakewood on fire. Fortunately the fire did not spread to the rest of the building. The damage was discovered Sunday.
No arrests have been made.
A Minnesota man, 31, has been arrested for a fire at a church building that inspectors say was intentionally set.
Jessie Tyler Bromaghim, 31, faces felony counts of arson, criminal damage and attempted vehicle theft after being accused of starting a fire and tipping over a statue at St. Mary’s Immaculate Conception Church, according to a report from The Winona Daily News.
The fire was set Wednesday. Channel 5 television reports seven fire departments responded to the fire. Their quick actions prevented structural damage to the building.
A sheriff’s office news release says investigators found vandalism inside the sanctuary.
Bromaghim is held in the Buffalo County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bond.
He is scheduled to appear in court May 23.
No motive for the arson or vandalism has been announced.
PORT ST. LUCIE – A Florida man was arrested this week for vandalizing a church. The arrest came after media in Port St. Lucie, Fla broadcast surveillance images of Christopher Joseph Trout, 29, damaging property belonging to the New Jerusalem Church of God, according to a report from WFLX television.
Trout was directly linked to the crime by evidence found inside his car, according to WPTV News.
According to jail records Thursday morning, Trout is charged with damaging prop-crim misch church synagogue mosque or religious article. His bond is set at $10,000. He also has a Leo Baker Act hold.
A Utah man was arrested Monday after police say he caused tens of thousands of dollars in damage to a church building.
According to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Charles Gregory Logan, 23, is charged with multiple felonies and misdemeanors, including disorderly-fight, interfere with arrest, assault-simple, criminal mischief and burglary. The charges were filed Monday after police say they found him inside the church.
KSL television reported a church volunteer spotted Logan smashing a chair and table in the ladies dressing room. She called for help. Logan is said to have struggled with church employees who attempted to detain him until police arrived.
A report from Desert News says when officers tried to arrest Logan, “he refused several commands to stop resisting and actively resisted attempts to place him into handcuffs. After a few minutes of struggling with Logan, he was taken into custody,”
According to Jail records Tuesday, Logan has been released on bond.
BEAUMONT, TEXAS – A building owned by a southeast Texas church that runs a Christian school was damaged by an explosion early Thursday morning, according to a report from KRIS TV. The explosion was caused by a bomb left at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church sometime between the end of services Wednesday evening and early Thursday before children arrived at the nearby school campus according to Click2Houston.
Beaumont, Texas Police Department spokesperson Officer Haley Morrow told Texas Gospel the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and the FBI are investigating the incident. Officer Morrow said
A police department news release says officers were called to the church property around 9 a.m. to investigate Criminal Mischief. An officer who responded to the call found damage from what appeared to be a previously-detonated package. Only minor damage was done to the building.
The Beaumont police chief said during a news conference that parts of the investigation are confidential and he would not say if there is any connection to an explosive device found at a local business earlier this year.
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