State police forces of West Virginia have officially kicked off a criminal investigation surrounding a suspected arson attack targeting a historic church that took place over this past weekend.
The Beaver Volunteer Fire Department responded to a call about a raging fire at St. Colman Catholic Church on Sunday in Shady Spring, West Virginia.
“Upon arrival we found the structure was already burned to the ground and smoldering. At this time the fire is considered suspicious in nature and is being investigated as arson,” stated a representative for the fire department in a release. “We were assisted by Ghent VFD, Coal City VFD, Ghent EMS, National Park Service and the WV State Police.”
This fire is suspected to be an arson attack following in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling at the end of last week to overturn the unconstitutional Roe v. Wade decision. This choice from SCOTUS has ended up forcing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to sound warning calls of domestic terror attacks taking place due to the ruling.
“Faith-based organizations across the United States continue to report numerous criminal incidents against religious institutions connected to abortion rights,” stated an intelligence report from the DHS. “We are aware of at least 11 incidents of vandalism threatening violence targeting religious facilities perceived as being opposed to abortion, and one threat to ‘bomb’ and ‘burn’ a church in New York. These incidents of vandalism against faith-based organizations could indicate future targets of DVE attacks.”
This released report issued a warning that the topic targets for this domestic terrorism were both federal and state officials, especially judges.
This recent suspected church arson from West Virginia comes in the wake of another suspected arson case that took place out in Colorado over the weekend, at which a pregnancy center from Longmont was heavily vandalized and then set ablaze.
“The fire happened at around 3:00 a.m. at the Life Choices Pregnancy Center,” reported a local media outlet. “The graffiti contained threatening messages including the words, ‘If abortions aren’t safe neither are you.'”
“We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support we have received since this morning and pray for healing and peace for all,” stated the Executive Director of the Life Choices Pregnancy Center, Kathy Roberts, in a release. “Although this is unsettling, we have an incredible, caring staff and volunteers that are committed to coming back and serving our community and surrounding areas.”
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