Two disturbing incidents over the last two nights at churches on Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda raise the possibility that Christian houses of worship are being targeted by one or more arsonists. At 2:00 AM this morning, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service personnel responded to a fire alarm at St. Jane Frances de Chantal Catholic Church at 9601 Old Georgetown. Firefighters found several pews inside the church on fire, MCFRS spokesperson Pete Piringer said. MCFRS's fire and explosive investigators are now treating the incident as an arson investigation, and are seeking the public's help - if you have any information about this case, call the Arson Tipline at 240.777.2263.
Twenty-five hours earlier, Montgomery County police responded to a report of illegal entry and arson at a different church in the 10100 block of Old Georgetown at 1:00 AM Saturday morning, according to crime data. Police and MCFRS have not released any details about that Saturday morning incident to the public as of this writing. Parishes across the country were warned by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security two weeks ago that domestic terrorists were planning "night of rage" attacks on Catholic churches and other religious or pro-life targets, after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Thank you for reporting this. Disturbing would be a gross understatement. This is absolute lawlessness and cannot be tolerated. What will Elrich say or do? Likely nothing. Awful.
ReplyDeleteEvery Catholic church needs a Montgomery County police presence for each Mass at this point. Or will the county sit back and watch them burn?
ReplyDeleteThey can hire off duty cops at about $250.
DeleteDe Chantal already does that but look what happened. This was 2AM. What will Elrich say or do? Nothing is the answer
ReplyDeleteThey have ruined our historic parish church. Four generations of our family worshipped at DeChantal. We had two dozen of our children attend DeChantal School. I want revenge. These abortion-loving Satan worshippers need to be hanged.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a Christian reaction all right!
DeleteThe silence from Elrich and Friedson is telling today. Tacit approval of the arson?
ReplyDelete