Two men are behind bars in connection with a string of church fires in East Texas, but the question that looms large is- why? Over the weekend, police arrested 19-year old Jason Robert Bourque in Van Zandt County, where two of the fires occurred, and 21-year old Daniel George McAllister in San Antonio, where he had recently moved (their pictures are inside our slideshow).
The two had attended church together in East Texas, but other than that, police aren’t saying much about them or why they might have targeted the churches. A total of ten churches have burned since just the beginning of this year. Another three were the site of attempted break-ins. No particular denomination nor race was targeted.
The pair is charged with only one of the fires, but police say the two men are suspected in all of them and more charges will follow. As Robert Champion, the head of the Dallas ATF told the media, “They were on quite a spree.” Bourque and McAllister each face a $10 million bond. Three sketches released earlier in the case were not related to the suspects arrested over the weekend.
The arrests end weeks of worry for hundreds of churches. In Smith County alone, where five churches burned, there are more than 700 houses of worship. That left a lot of ground for law enforcement officers to cover. They mounted a huge patrol combing police and people in the community to watch different locations. The watches and a tip line paid off. No more churched burned since the last two on February 8th and a tip came in that led police to the two suspects. Police say they have DNA evidence from one of the suspects to tie him to the crimes, although they won’t specify which suspect.
A map of where the churches are that burned can be found here: (http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/director_staff/public_information/pr022110a.pdf)