OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Authorities are investigating an attempted arson and suspicious device left at a place of worship for Jehovah’s Witnesses in Yelm, the latest in a series of attacks.
The Olympian reports deputies were called to Kingdom Hall in Yelm Wednesday morning after church officials found smoldering fire logs stacked against the building.
The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office says deputies then discovered what appeared to be an explosive device on the ground nearby.
Bomb technicians were called to the scene.
Federal investigators said in July that several other incidents at places of worship for Jehovah’s Witnesses in western Washington state were connected.
A church in Olympia was burned in July. It also was set on fire along with a Tumwater church in March. The Yelm church was shot at in May.
The incidents are under investigation as hate crimes.
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