Black churches in St. Louis area damaged by fires, arson suspected

Fires damaged several churches—of different denominations, but most with predominantly black congregations—within a few miles of one another in northwest St. Louis and nearby suburbs within weeks in October.

Captain Garon Mosby of the St. Louis Fire Department said the fires, set near each church’s front doors, were caused by arson, according to news reports.

One of the churches damaged by fire was New Life Missionary Baptist Church in St. Louis’s Walnut Park East neighborhood, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.