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An old Lutheran church, that has mass in German once a month, is being destroyed by fire right now a few blocks from Harvard Square. A sixth alarm has sounded, streets are closed, and some homes may be evacuated. Given that it is Easter Sunday, I can't help but speculate about anti-Christian terrorism. My mother's whole family and half of my Dad's were descended from German Lutheran immigrants. I know all about Massachusetts, and Cambridge, but this was an active and faithful congregation, please pray for them.

The suspect, assigned male at birth, indicated a preferred name traditional for females, though Portland officials could not immediately confirm whether the individual identifies as transgender. The fire first reported around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Old Portland Korean Church -- a three-story wooden, 3,000-square foot church, completed in 1905 – quickly escalated to three-alarm status and sparked concerns of a major structural collapse if the steeple were to fall onto elevated lines for the street car or a nearby house as crews poured water onto the blaze overnight.

Updated: April 19, 2021 07:38 PM Created: April 19, 2021 07:35 PM Firefighters are responding to a fire at a church in northeast Minneapolis. According to the Minneapolis Fire Department, the church is located on the 2200 block of Fifth Street Northeast. This is a developing story.

A fire has broken out at the cathedral in the French city of Nantes. More than 60 firefighters are currently at the Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul cathedral, according to local media. The cause of the fire is not yet known. Images from the scene show a substantial fire and smoke billowing from inside the gothic building.

A raging fire tore through the church at Mission San Gabriel Arcángel early Saturday, July 11, destroying almost all of the 215-year-old building that is an icon in the small Los Angeles County town.

Marion County Sheriff’s deputies have arrested a Dunnellon man and accused him of setting a fire Saturday morning inside Queen of Peace Catholic Church. The blaze caused significant damage but no one was injured. In an interview with sheriff’s Detective John Lightle, suspect Steven Anthony Shields said he has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and is not taking his medication. Shields said that what he did “awesome,” and he smiled and laughed while he was questioned at the Sheriff’s Office, according to an arrest affidavit. Referring to himself as the “king” and saying he was on a “mission,” Shields told the...

A Mississippi church that is suing to stay open during the coronavirus shutdowns was destroyed by arson Wednesday, according to local officials. Fox News reports someone also spray-painted graffiti on the First Pentecostal Church of Holly Springs, including a message that read, “I Bet you stay home now you hypokrits [sic].” Local authorities said there was an explosion in the front of the church, and the building caught fire sometime between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. Wednesday. Marshall County Sheriff’s Department Major Kelly McMillian told the local news that the fire is being investigated as a criminal act of arson....

OPELOUSAS, La. - An arrest has been made in connection with three fires at historically black churches in a Louisiana parish, according to U.S. Attorney David C. Joseph. At a news conference Thursday morning, Louisiana State Fire Marshal H. “Butch” Browning Jr. said 21-year-old Holden Matthews had been arrested. He was booked into the St. Landry Parish Jail and charged with three counts of simple arson on religious buildings. Each charge has a maximum sentence of 15 years. The three fires are related and were intentionally set, Browning said. Federal authorities are vetting whether hate was a motive of Holden...

Journalists have condemned a report by Breitbart news that claimed a mob of 1,000 men had attacked police and set fire to a church, calling the article a distortion of facts. Breitbart wrote an article about New Year's Eve in Dortmund on Tuesday with the headline "Revealed: 1,000-man mob attack police, set Germany's oldest church alight on New Year's Eve". "At New Year's Eve celebrations in Dortmund a mob of more than 1,000 men chanted 'Allahu Akhbar', launched fireworks at police, and set fire to a historic church," the alt-right website reported. The report was attributed to local news site...

At New Year’s Eve celebrations in Dortmund a mob of more than 1,000 men chanted ‘Allahu Akhbar’, launched fireworks at police, and set fire to a historic church. Already by 7 pm a man was hospitalised with first-degree burns to his face and hands after fireworks were hurled at a group of homeless people outside the city’s main train station. More than two dozen people were injured at festivities in Dortmund, some seriously. The events of the night were described as “quiet” by police in a statement, and as “normal” by a spokesman for the city government.

(CNN) — Federal investigators suspect lightning may have caused the fire at the Mount Zion AME Church in Greeleyville, South Carolina, senior officials in the FBI told CNN contributor Tom Fuentes. The FBI has been working with the National Weather Service to determine whether heavy storms in the area contributed to the fire. A forensic report from CNN meteorologists shows that there were four strikes in the immediate vicinity of the church at 7:18 p.m. ET Tuesday.

A fire engulfed and destroyed a Catholic church in Hacienda Heights along the 1300 block of Turnbull Canyon Road. The blaze broke out at St. John Vianney shortly after midnight on Saturday. The priest, who was asleep in the rectory adjacent to the church, realized the building was on fire when he heard loud popping noises. The church was fully engulfed when fire crews and arson investigators arrived on scene. Authorities said the fire was raging hottest in the auditorium of the church. They said the wooden pew inside the auditorium accelerated the blaze. It took firefighters several hours to...

A federal jury on Thursday convicted a 26-year-old white man of burning down a predominantly black church in Springfield in the hours after Barack Obama was elected president in 2008, a crime prosecutors say was fueled by racist anger. The all-white, 12-member jury, which had been deadlocked on Wednesday, convicted Michael Jacques of conspiracy against civil rights, destruction of religious property and using fire to commit a felony... Jacques and two friends were charged with burning down the Macedonia Church of God in Christ in the early morning hours of Nov. 5, 2008. The church, which is near all three...

A recent Harvard Law School graduate has been accused of setting fire to a New York City chapel that houses the remains of unidentified victims of the 9/11 attacks, leading to public outrage from the victims’ families. Classmates of Schroeder at the Law School contacted by The Crimson either did not return repeated requests for comment or declined to comment. But according to media reports the act surprised those who know Schroeder, who served as co-president of Lambda, the school’s LGBT student organization, during his time as a student.

Jake Miller admitted it was difficult to separate his emotions from doing his job as a newsman for WGEM once the station found itself in the middle of a investigation involving a fire that destroyed a Northeast Missouri church. Details were made public Friday about the station's role in providing authorities with information that led to the apprehension of a Marion County, Mo., juvenile. "This is a perfect example of how everyone can work together for the betterment of the community," Miller said. "This was truly a team effort." WGEM reporters and editors ended up playing key roles Thursday in...

LOS ANGELES A suspicious fire broke out at a South Los Angeles church Saturday night, but there were no immediate reports of injuries. The fire was reported at 8:47 p.m. at Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church, 1284 E. 50th St., and was put out by 9:35 p.m., Los Angeles city fire spokeswoman Melissa Kelley said. Heavy smoke came from the burning first floor and choir loft, Kelley said. No injuries were reported. Most of the damage was on a mezzanine level, CBS 2 reported. The sanctuary of the church escaped damage, according to Channel 2. Church member Bob Hewins told...

SALEM, Ore. - A man ranting about "the blood" burst into a church sanctuary during a service, sloshed fuel onto people and started a fire, police and church officials said Thursday. Some parishioners were able to smother the flames with their coats while another group tackled the man, said the Rev. Scott Erickson, pastor of the Peoples Church. Two older women from the congregation were burned when their clothing caught fire. "He ... was yelling things about the blood, and then he began to sprinkle the fluid and light it," Erickson said. "He was making slurs about things that are...

Standing near the rubble of the historic First United Methodist Church, federal, state and local fire officials announced late Monday that the three-alarm fire that destroyed the church was not caused by arson. They also said they may never know what sparked the blaze. For three days, 25 officials from the Memphis Fire Department, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, along with the state bomb and arson team, sifted through "tons and tons" of rubble at the church where the fire started early Friday. "We know it was not intentional," said Memphis Fire Department Deputy Director Alvin...

Posted on Tue, Apr. 04, 2006 TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) -- A fire destroyed a church in east Alabama early Tuesday, and authorities were trying to determine what caused the blaze. Video from a Birmingham television station, WVTM, showed that little remained of Blackberry Lane Community Church aside from charred brick walls. Police said the cause of the blaze was under investigation. Three men are jailed on federal charges in a string of fires that damaged or destroyed nine l [sic] churches in rural central and west Alabama in early February. A case of suspected arson at a 10th church during...

COLCHESTER, Conn. -- A church in Colchester was leveled by an explosion Friday morning. St. Mary's Ukrainian Church on Route 16, also known as Linwood Ave., was flattened by the explosion just before 7 a.m., according to state police. State police spokesman, Sgt. J. Paul Vance, said the area had been cordoned off and the highway was shut down in both directions. Vance said there was no initial report of injuries and there was no immediate indication of what caused the explosion. The state fire marshal was called to the scene as well utility company crews.