A small fire at a church in southern Anne Arundel County, Maryland, may have been set, a neighbor told investigators.
Flames were reported just before 5:30 a.m. at Judah Temple Ministries, a small Black church on Snug Harbor Road, in Shady Side, that was built in the early 1890s.
Firefighters from Anne Arundel and Calvert counties responded, and “met a small fire in the vestibule of the church,” said Lt. Sheldon Neal, with the Anne Arundel County Fire Department. “The fire was under control very quickly, with minor damage to the church.”
After the flames were extinguished, “a neighbor close to the church came over and explained that they saw an unidentified person running away after throwing something in the church,” said Neal. “And then they noticed the fire.”
“All they stated was they saw someone throw something at the church and run away from it,” Neal added.
It is not clear who that person might be, or what they might have thrown into the church.
Fire investigators were still on the scene Sunday morning.
A map of where the church is located is below:
