Tip lines set up as East Texas church fires continue Play Video

By Associated Press

Posted: Feb 9, 2010 4:48 AM
Updated: Feb 9, 2010 1:24 PM

Fires occurred late Monday night at two more rural churches near Tyler, Texas.

Investigators called the fires suspicious, although an arson ruling hasn't been made.

The fires occurred hours after investigators concluded that a seventh East Texas church fire this year was deliberately set.

Federal authorities believe a serial arsonist is to blame for the rash of fires, which have occurred at churches of various sizes and denominations. Clay Alexander, the head of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives office in Tyler, said Tuesday that one person or a group of people could be responsible.

  Most of the fires have been in and around Tyler and Athens.

  The first fire on Monday was reported about 9 p.m. at Dover Baptist Church northwest of Tyler, a Smith County sheriff's dispatcher said. The second fire happened at Clear Springs Missionary Baptist Church three miles away.

  The ATF has set up a hotline for tips on who's responsible for the church fires: 888-ATF-FIRE.

The Texas Department of Public Safety also said arson tip calls would be answered at 903-675-0061, or 0062. DPS said a $25,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the identity of the arsonist.

Rating: 2.0 (4 votes)
| More
    Bookmark and Share
  • Avatar for Estaven
    Neutral + − !
    Estaven at Feb 9th 2010 1:05 PM

    There are so many churches in East Texas it is hard to have a structure fire without it being a church. A lot of religion, very little grace.

  • Avatar for rider777
    Neutral + − !
    rider777 at Feb 9th 2010 1:10 PM

    Maybe it is you who is the arsonist.

Not registered? Enter your information. You will be sent a confirmation email.


Please keep your comments relevant. Inflamatory or offensive comments will be removed. Email addresses are NEVER displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

New users will be sent an email to confirm their comments. If you choose to create an account, a subsequent email will be sent with a password to login. To leave another comment, just use that password.

To create a link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and it will automatically be made a link. Paragraph and line spacing is automatically maintained, so there is no need to use <p> or <br /> tags. All other HTML tags are removed, including <img>.

Featured Videos

Poll

Do you prefer to spring forward or fall back?

Most Popular