A suspected arsonist was in custody after allegedly torching two churches and setting five other fires in Jackson, Mississippi early Tuesday morning, officials said.
The early morning blazes were concentrated on and around the campus of Jackson State University — a historically black public college.
One of the two houses of worship set ablaze, the 85-year-old Epiphany Lutheran Church, was completely destroyed. Another fire was set on JSU’s baseball field fence.
Officials said all but one of the fires were extinguished by 6 a.m. before voters headed towards the polls. Epiphany church burned for more than four hours before firecrews were able to stop the flames.
No injuries were reported.
“I’ve been here for 30 years. This is a major occurrence,” Patrick Armon, assistant fire chief for the Jackson Fire Department, told WAPT-TV. “This is not something we normally go to. We have about a third of our department on sites.”
The suspect, Devin McLauren, was arrested by deputies from the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office later on Friday in Terry near the Copiah County line after police received a citizen tip, Sheriff Tyree Jones said. He was then transported to the Jackson Police Department for questioning.
Lloyd Caston, 73, an elder at Epiphany, said he learned about the fire from a family member around 4 a.m. When he arrived at the church a half hour later, he said the building was swallowed in flames.
“There wasn’t nothing we could do but sit and watch,” Caston said. “That was it.”
“It destroyed the church and everything in it,” Caston said.
The building, which had its interior renovated in March, was reduced to a pile of charred debris.
Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba addressed the fires at a Tuesday city council meeting and thanked firefighters for putting out the flames quickly and getting back to their firehouses — many of which are polling stations.
“We don’t yet know who or why, but I want to thank the firefighters because they were able to respond to that and still get back to the stations, so that people could set up for voting precincts,” Lumumba stated.
No polling places were reported to have been impacted by the fires.
The fire at the Jackson State University baseball field is being investigated by the Mississippi State Fire Marshalls because it is state-owned property. The agency is offering up to $5,000 for information that leads to an arrest and arson conviction.
With Post Wires
