St. Landry Crime Stoppers and the Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s Office need your help in developing more information about fires at three churches in St. Landry Parish.
On March 26, a fire was reported at St. Mary Baptist Church in Port Barre. On April 2, a fire was reported at Greater Union Baptist Church on Highway 742 in Opelousas. And on April 4, a fire was reported at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Opelousas. All three fires are considered total losses.
Each of these fires occurred in overnight hours. They also all involve churches with more than a hundred years in existence and with predominantly African-American congregations.
Investigators do consider these fires to be suspicious and are working to determine if and how they are connected.
We encourage anyone in the community with any information to come forward with it. That information can range from something you hear in a conversation to abnormal observations you make in your communities, including unusual behaviors and activity.
You can submit those tips anonymously to the Arson Hotline at 1-800-256-5456 or through our online tip form at lasfm.org.
Download the P3 app and tap the app on your mobile device to “Say It Here” and submit an anonymous tip.
All callers will remain anonymous and can receive up to a $2,500 reward for information leading to an arrest in the fires.
