Arson Attempt At Jehovah's Witness Temple Is 5th Attack In 2018
YELM, WA – A Jehovah’s Witness temple in rural Thurston County was the target of vandalism on Wednesday, the fifth such attack on a temple in the area since March, according to police. There’s a $36,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the people carrying out the attacks.
Early Wednesday morning, church leaders found a pile of logs smoldering at the Kingdom Hall temple at 15012 Vail Road. Nearby, someone had left a suspicious device that was initially thought to be a bomb.
State and local police, as well as the FBI and ATF, responded. The suspicious device turned out to be fake.
The damage at the temple was minimal, the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office reported. But the arson fits with a series of attacks on Thurston County Jehovah’s Witness buildings.
Thurston County Sheriff John Snaza has called the attacks a hate crime. Gov. Jay Inslee weighed in Wednesday, calling the latest attack “abhorrent.”
“These attacks are abhorrent and we must do everything we can to ensure that everyone has the freedom to worship. If you have any information on the incident at Kingdom Halls in Thurston County, contact the ATF Arson Hotline at 1-888-283-3473,” Inslee said on Twitter Wednesday.
Police are still trying to locate a man caught on video in May at a Tumwater Fred Meyer buying the same type of logs used in the arson fires. He has been called a “person of interest,” but not a suspect.
“It is inevitable that innocent people will be injured or killed if these incidents go unchecked,” Seattle Field Division Special Agent in Charge Darek Pleasants said in a press release. “We take events at houses of worship very seriously and are appealing to those who live in and around Thurston and the surrounding counties to partner with us in protecting their communities in this investigation.”
The ATF is accepting tips about the attacks at 888-ATF-TIPS (283-8477). You can also contact Crime Stoppers of South Sound at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), or the Arson Alarm Foundation at 1-800-55-ARSON.
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