Two Suspects Believed Responsible for Church Fire Spree

Since Feb. 2, ten Baptist churches in rural Alabama have fallen victim to fires, with the latest having been struck Saturday night near the Mississippi line. Two men in their 20s or 30s are believed to be responsible, investigators said Sunday as authorities confirmed the latest blaze at Beaverton Freewill Baptist Church was the result of arson. "They're not youths or teens. It's probably someone in their 20s or 30s,” said Eric Kehn, a spokesman for the ATF. “They're pretty much inseparable. They're something like bosom buddies." In the first series of fires, three churches were burned to the ground, while two churches were damaged by fire. The second set of fires, which hit early last week, damaged Dancy First Baptist Church near Aliceville and Spring Valley Baptist Church near Emelle and destroyed Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church near Boligee and Gallilee Baptist in Panola. Alabama Gov. Bob Riley said the first nine church fires appeared linked. Fire marshals are currently investigating whether the Saturday blaze was linked to the other nine. Kehn, meanwhile, said witness reports and behavioral profilers led authorities to believe that two white men were responsible for the fires. Witnesses said they saw two men in a sport utility vehicle near a number of the fires. There is no racial pattern in the attacks, however, as five of the churches had white congregations, and five, black. Investigators have said they don't know a motive.