BIRMINGHAM -- A weekend fire at a Baptist church was ruled arsonSunday, the 10th since Feb. 2 at churches in rural Alabama,authorities said.
The Saturday afternoon blaze severely damaged the BeavertonFreewill Baptist Church in northwest Alabama, near the Mississippiline.
'It's definitely arson,' said Ragan Ingram, a spokesman for thestate fire marshal's office, which was investigating whether the firewas connected to the blazes that have destroyed or damaged ninechurches.
Saturday's fire was the only one of the 10 that was not set in thepre-dawn hours.
Investigators have said that they do not know a motive, but thatthere is no racial pattern. Five of the churches had whitecongregations and five black. All were Baptist, the dominant faith inthe region, and were mostly in isolated country settings.
Last week, Gov. Bob Riley said the nine earlier church firesappear linked, as investigators checked out witness reports of twomen in a sport-utility vehicle near a number of the fires.
On Sunday, a federal investigator said authorities believe -- based on witness reports and behavioral profilers -- two white menwere responsible for the fires.
Evidence from one of the earlier fires indicates the perpetratorsmay have been briefly trapped inside the building and may have beenhurt, said Jim Cavanaugh, regional director of the federal Bureau ofAlcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
ROSEVILLE, Calif. -- A single-engine plane that appeared to havebeen performing an aerobatic stunt lost control and crashed into asuburban Sacramento home, killing at least two people and sparking afire that gutted the house, police said.
The crash left a gaping, smoldering hole in the two-story house itdirectly hit and set fire to an adjacent house, damaging the garageand attic, said Roseville Fire Marshall Dennis Mathisen. One body wasvisible in the wreckage.
Placer County Deputy Coroner T. Sinclair confirmed that two peoplewere in the plane, and that a teenager who lived in the house wasunaccounted for. Neighbors said his family was out of town for theweekend, and it was unclear if he was home at the time.
Sinclair said no one could have survived the crash, but he wasunable to confirm any deaths because the Federal AviationAdministration was not allowing officials into the wreckage toretrieve bodies until Monday.
The plane -- which the FAA identified as a 1996 Glasair II -- appeared to be doing an aerobatic maneuver when it crashed justbefore 11:30 a.m., Roseville Police spokeswoman Dee Dee Gunther said.
'The pilot appeared to be coming down low for some kind ofmaneuver that brought him to within 500 feet of the rooftops,' shesaid. 'And then he appeared to lose control and crashed into one ofthe houses.'
OAK PARK, Ill. -- Six inmates -- including two who are chargedwith murder -- escaped Saturday night by overpowering a guard atthe Cook County Jail, authorities said. Three were captured Sunday.The men were in a special unit for inmates with disciplinaryproblems, and only one guard was on duty instead of two because ofstaffing shortages, said county sheriff's spokesman Bill Cunningham.
MANILA, Calif. -- Vesta Lorraine Baker, 82, and her son, CharlesWayne Baker, 59, drowned Saturday when their boat capsized in wavesoff northern California. The Coast Guard helicopter attempting torescue them crashed into the water. Two other passengers in the boatswam to shore and were taken to the hospital. The three-member CoastGuard crew had minor injuries.
PHILLIPSBURG, Ohio -- Tonya Hawk, 31, and her three sons, whowere 2, 4 and 5, were found fatally shot Saturday in their westernOhio home, officials said. A handgun was found in the home, andpolice said they were interviewing the woman's boyfriend, who hadrecently moved out.
-- From News Services
