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.”