DUBLIN, Ga. (ABP) — Officials offered a reward of up to $10,000 for information about a fire that destroyed a Baptist church in Dublin, Ga.
An Aug. 13 blaze destroyed the 50-year-old sanctuary of Dublin's Central Baptist Church. Ellis Carswell, pastor of the 125-member congregation, told local media he suspected arson from the beginning, because someone previously broke a window at the church and tried to set a curtain on fire on Aug. 3.
Authorities determined Aug. 17 the cause of the fire was arson, after specially trained dogs discovered traces of accelerant. Samples taken from several "hit" spots in the rubble were sent to the state fire marshal's lab, the Dublin Courier-Herald reported Aug. 18.
Carswell, an African-American community leader who in the past chaired the Laurens County Board of Education, told the Macon Telegraph he didn't know why anyone would want to burn the 6,000-square-foot church building. The pastor said he wasn't sure if the church had insurance, but leaders were trying to find out.
Glenn Allen, a spokesman for the state insurance commissioner's office, told the Macon newspaper that it is too early to say whether the case could be investigated as a hate crime, but federal authorities would make that determination, depending on where the investigation leads.
As of the 2000 census, Dublin's population of 17,627 was 51 percent black and 45 percent white.
The reward was offered by Georgia's Insurance and Fire Safety Commissioner's Office and the Georgia Arson Control Board.
The Georgia Arson Control Program was started by property and casualty insurers in 1979. The group set up a reward fund for individuals who come forward with information that results in the arrest and conviction of arsonists and a hotline and website for reporting tips.
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Bob Allen is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.