It was around 1:30am when the pastor got a call from the alarm company saying that the motion detectors and part of the church were going off. At the same time, a woman who lives near the church heard her dog barking. When she looked outside the window, she saw two young men run from an open back door in the back part of the building.
The witness told authorities she saw one of those teens throw down what appeared to be a firework and that firework went off. It was later determined it was a Roman candle. Moments later, she saw smoke pouring from the building.
The pastor says in that portion of the building next to the church, they run a thrift shop as well as a food pantry for the needy. The pastor says they have had a series of events in which people would try to break into the building.
"It's just a huge setback. Like I say, things that we can help the community with," said Pastor Ray Morris. "It's just sad. It makes a man want to cry. There is no way I can describe it. We are used to helping people out and someone else just burns it down."
There is no external damage to the building itself. It's a detached building that was added a couple of years ago. The fire didn't spread to the sanctuary.
If you have any information about thsi case, you're asked to call the New Caney fire department or the Montgomery County Sheriff's Department.
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