A historic black church caught fire in South Carolina on Tuesday evening, the seventh predominantly African-American church in flames since the Charleston church shooting tragedy on June 17. So far, authorities have found nothing to link them.
The Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church in Greeleyville burned for four hours as fire crews from two nearby counties struggled to contain the flames,
reported The Washington Post. It wasn't the first time the congregation has seen the church burn in its more than 100-year history. In June 1995, the church burned to the ground after Ku Klux Klan members set it on fire.
Preliminary indications are the newest fire wasn't the intentional work of an arsonist, although the fire is still under investigation, according to a federal source and
The Associated Press. There also are no obvious indications that the seven recent church fires are related to one another.
“When I got the message last night, my first thought was: ‘Not again. Not again. Not again,’” Rev. Alice Parson Wright at a nearby AME church told the AP. “And then the second thought was: ‘I pray this is not arson but an act of God because of the weather.’”
The Mount Zion fire was reported around 9 p.m. as intense storms scourged the area, and some officials said lightning may have caused the fire,
according to The Huffington Post. Although the fire was contained around 11 p.m., the church sustained severe damage.
“The building collapsed,” firefighter Jason Hardy of Clarendon County told The Huffington Post. “Only the outer shell is left. Just brick standing.”
Williamsburg County Councilman Eddie Woods, Jr. said he got out of bed on Tuesday night when he heard about the fire and to drove to the church, reported The AP.
“That was a tough thing to see," said Woods. “It is hurting those people again. But we're going to rebuild.”
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