A fire destroyed the prominent black church in Greeleyville, South Carolina, Tuesday night. Investigators now say the blaze was not a case of arson.
The Mount Zion AME Church in Greeleyville as seen on July 1.
Bruce Smith / AP
In a statement released Thursday, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said that "the cause of the fire was best classified as natural."
The statement added that there was no indication that "criminal intent" was involved in the blaze.
Though the statement does not specifically say what started the fire, it does note that people in the area saw lightning strikes before the church burned. A meteorologist with the National Weather Service confirmed to BuzzFeed News that there had been lightning in the area at the time, and Firefighter Jason Hardy of neighboring Clarendon County told BuzzFeed News a "pretty good" storm went through the area just before the fire broke out.
The investigation is now finished, statement added Thursday.
Police believe fires at predominantly black churches in Knoxville, Tennessee, Macon, Georgia, and Charlotte, North Carolina, were set by arsonists. Both the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms were investigating the fires to determine both the culprits and their motives.
However, other fires in places such as Tennessee, Florida, and Ohio are not considered suspicious.
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/1R8eyut
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