(AP) – Authorities say a suburban St. Louis church Nativity
scene fire appears to have been intentionally set.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the Nativity scene in front of the
altar was ablaze Tuesday night when firefighters entered the smoke-filled St.
Monica Catholic Church. Crews quickly extinguished the fire.
Assistant fire marshal Jerry McQueen, of the Creve Coeur Fire Protection
District, says the fire has been deemed “suspicious.”
The Rev. Joseph Weber says it appears someone piled items, including a large
chair and the pulpit, on top of the Nativity scene before the fire. He says the
“entire parish has been violated.”
St. Louis regional bomb and arson detectives are assisting Creve Coeur police
in the investigation. Police say the church was unlocked at the time of the
blaze.
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