  
| 
| ||||||||||||
Handprint could be key to church fire probeFrom Rusty Dornin ALICEVILLE, Alabama (CNN) -- Investigators looking into the fires at nine Baptist churches in Alabama over the past week are hoping a handprint left on one church's front door may help catch a perpetrator. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives would not indicate whether its agents were able to lift a readable fingerprint from the inside part of the front door at Dancy First Baptist Church, south of Aliceville in Pickens County. Arsonists entered the church by kicking in a back door, then set a fire near the pulpit before trying to escape through the front door, authorities said. (Watch how the church blazes have become an ATF priority -- 2:04) However, the front door had a dead-bolt lock, and the arsonists had to exit through the back door, where police said they found a footprint that might have come from someone kicking the door. The fire consumed the pulpit, communion table and part of the ceiling. Churchgoers were allowed to take a look at the damaged church Thursday, and the Rev. Walter Hawkins said they hope to have it rebuilt by May. "They are material things that can be replaced," Hawkins said. "The church is in our heart. That's what we live on." Hawkins added that he hopes the arsonists "have a repentance of heart." "Forgive them, they know not what they do," a sign in front of the church reads. Authorities have been investigating the fires to determine if they're connected and, if so, who is behind them. Nine churches -- five with predominantly African-American congregations and four with predominantly white ones -- have been set ablaze in the past week in central and western Alabama. Nobody has been injured. (Map) James Posey, a preacher at the fire-damaged Morning Star Baptist Church, speculated that the perpetrators could have been hatemongers, devil worshippers or thrill seekers. "I would like to ask them: What did you get from this? Why did you do it?" Posey said. N.G. Berrill, a forensic psychologist, said arsonists "love the power" and "the theater associated with fire." Investigators are going "to look for any communications that might be left specifically, consciously or inadvertently at the scenes of the crime," Berrill said. More than 100 ATF personnel, including special agents and forensic experts, are investigating the fires. A criminal and geographical profiler also has been called in. (Full story) The ATF has said witnesses have reported seeing a dark-colored SUV near some of the fires. But it is not clear if the vehicle is linked to the blazes. 
|
| ||||||||||||
| © 2007 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us. Site Map. |
 |
|
External sites open in new window; not endorsed by CNN.com
Pay service with live and archived video. 
