Bradley County authorities are looking for a man who set fire to a church early Sunday morning. The church surveillance system captured photos of the perpetrator.
Investigators from the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office, Bradley County Fire and Rescue, the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance Fire Investigations, and Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms have deemed the structure fire of Christian Outreach Church at 225 Rabbit Valley Road to be arson.
At approximately 2:31 a.m., a call was received through the Cleveland/Bradley County 911 Communications Center regarding a church burglary in progress. When arriving on the scene, patrol deputies immediately requested Bradley County Fire & Rescue respond after observing a large amount of smoke inside the building. Once fire department personnel arrived, over half of the structure was engulfed in flames.
Witnesses said a person was seen running away from the church towards an adjacent wooded area before deputies arrived.
Upon further investigation, photos were recovered from a surveillance system that captured an individual inside the church before it caught fire. He is now being considered a person of interest. Investigators are asking for the public’s assistance in identifying the person captured in the photographs.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in conjunction with the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office and the Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office-Fire Investigations Unit, have announced a reward for up to $ 2,500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction for those responsible for the fire.
The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance is offering a cash award of up to $5,000 for any information leading to the capture of the person(s) responsible for the arsonist act. Anybody with information should call the Tennessee Arson Hotline at 1-800-762-3017.