Arsonist Targets 7th St. Louis Church in 2 Weeks

A suspected arsonist targeted a seventh St. Louis-area church Thursday morning, authorities said, NBC News reported. 

Firefighters responded to the Shrine of St. Joseph just after 1:30 a.m. The front doors of the rectory had been burned with a small amount of accelerant, the St. Louis Fire Department said in a news release. The rectory was empty at the time and there were no reported injuries.

St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson said the fire appears similar to the other recent arsons in the St. Louis area in which only the front doors of churches were burned.

While the Shrine of St. Joseph has a mostly white congregation, many of the other churches are predominantly black, according to NBC affiliate KSDK. No known motive has been suggested by authorities. 

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