10th Alabama Church Torched, Authorities Suspect ‘Bosom Buddies’

Investigators believe a pair of men in their 20s or 30s, likely “bosom buddies,” are responsible for a string of church fires in rural Alabama, as authorities confirmed the latest blaze at a Baptist church on Saturday afternoon was the 10th case of arson.

A federal investigator said witness reports and behavioral profilers led authorities to believe that two white men were responsible for the fires. Witnesses said they saw two men in a sport utility vehicle near a number of the fires.

“They’re not youths or teens. It’s probably someone in their 20s or 30s. We believe they’re pretty much inseparable. They’re something like bosom buddies,” Eric Kehn, a spokesman for the federal Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agency said.

“Evidence from one of the earlier fires indicates the perpetrators may have been briefly trapped inside the building and may have been hurt,” Jim Cavanaugh, ATF regional director said.

Investigators have said they don’t know a motive, but there is no racial pattern. Five of the churches had white congregations and five black. All were Baptist, the dominant faith in the region, and mostly in isolated country settings.

A weekend fire at a Baptist church was ruled arson Sunday, the 10th in a recent string of blazes set at churches in rural Alabama, authorities said.

The Saturday afternoon blaze severely damaged the Beaverton Freewill Baptist Church in northwest Alabama, near the Mississippi line.

“It’s definitely arson,” said Ragan Ingram, a spokesman for the state fire marshal’s office, which was investigating whether the fire was connected to the other blazes that have destroyed or damaged nine churches since Feb. 2.

Saturday’s fire was the only one that wasn’t set in the pre-dawn hours.
Investigators have said they don’t know a motive, but there is no racial pattern. Five of the churches had white congregations, and five, black. All were Baptist, the dominant faith in the region, and mostly in isolated country settings.

Last week, Gov. Bob Riley said the nine earlier church fires appear linked, as investigators checked out witness reports of two men in a sport utility vehicle near a number of the fires.

On Sunday, a federal investigator said authorities believe, on the basis of witness reports and behavioral profilers, two white men were responsible for the fires.

Officials said there have been 59 church fires in Alabama in the past five years, including the 10 reported in the past 10 days, and 19 were ruled arsons.

The FBI is looking into whether the first five fires, in Bibb County, were civil rights violations under laws covering attacks on religious property. State and federal rewards totaling at least $10,000 have been offered.

Topics Alabama Church