Youth Tied To Fires At 2 North Bethesda Churches Arrested: Report

NORTH BETHESDA, MD — Montgomery County Police have arrested a juvenile who police and fire officials believe was involved in two fires at churches located near each other on Old Georgetown Road in North Bethesda, according to a county official.

The case is being handled in juvenile court, Pete Piringer, spokesman for the county fire and rescue service, told The Washington Post.

Three churches were damaged in North Bethesda two weekends ago, with fires at two of them, according to Montgomery County fire officials.

Around 2:15 a.m. on July 10, Montgomery County firefighters found several church pews on fire at St. Jane Frances de Chantal Catholic Church, at 9601 Old Georgetown Road in North Bethesda near the Capital Beltway.

On July 9, a small fire at North Bethesda United Methodist Church damaged the fellowship hall kitchen and hallway, according to officials. Vandals also damaged the Wildwood Baptist Church in Bethesda early in the morning on July 9, officials said.

"Investigators with the Criminal Investigations Division of the Montgomery County Department of Police have been working closely with Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services, Fire and Explosive Investigators into the arson and vandalism of two churches along Old Georgetown Road in the North Bethesda area," Montgomery County Police said in a statement email to Patch on Tuesday.

A fire investigator said he did not believe the fire at St. Jane Frances de Chantal Catholic Church was connected to the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court last month to overturn the constitutional right to abortion or "the greater issue of choice and life and so forth," Pastor Samuel Giese of St. Jane de Chantal Parish told NBC4.

"There is no ongoing threat to the community," Piringer said Monday in a tweet.

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