“These churches are within a few miles of each other,” said Pete Piringer, a spokesman for Montgomery County Fire and Rescue. “Right now we can’t definitively say they’re related, but they’re all very similar.”
Around 1:30 a.m. Saturday, a fire was started at North Bethesda United Methodist Church on Old Georgetown Rd. in Bethesda, Maryland, Piringer told CNN, but damage was minimal.
An investigator leaving the church grounds then came across debris that authorities suspect came from nearby Wildwood Baptist Church, Piringer said, including several damaged headstones and lumber along the road.
Wildwood Baptist was not set on fire, but the material found appeared to be the result of vandalism, according to Piringer.
A spokesperson for North Bethesda United Methodist confirmed that the building had fire damage in the fellowship hall, kitchen and hallway.
“We are saddened by these destructive acts and feel the pangs of heartache and fear that arise in communities of all types when a sacred space is desecrated. We cannot know the pain of the person or people who vandalized churches in our neighborhood, and so we bring their pain and our own to God,” the Rev. Cara Scroggins, the church’s senior pastor, said in a statement provided to CNN.
About 24 hours later, around 2 a.m. on Sunday, the fire and rescue service was called to the parish of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, located less than two miles from the other churches. First responders spotted a fire in the church’s sanctuary that damaged several pews but was quickly extinguished, Piringer said, adding that investigators believe the fire was set intentionally.
In remarks broadcast live on Sunday, Reverend Samuel Giese informed the congregation of St. Jane Frances de Chantal that their parish had been vandalized during the night. The YouTube video also contained footage from inside the church of the overnight fire.
“People broke in, overturned statues, knocked down the stations of the cross, desecrated the tabernacle and tried to set fire to the church,” Giese said.
In a statement to CNN, Wildwood Baptist Church said that “the damage to our church was limited to the desecration of the cemetery adjacent to the church. Our prayers and concern go out to those whose hearts are so vile as to attack churches and cemeteries.”
Authorities did not comment on a potential motive amid the ongoing investigation.
CNN contacted the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, the Parish of St. Jane Frances de Chantal and North Bethesda United Methodist Church for comment.
CNN’s Daniel Allman contributed to this report.
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