Authorities said a fire at a Portland church is potentially arson, which church officials believe could have been racially motivated.
Investigators said the fire at Portland New Church began early on Sunday, the Portland Press Herald reported.
No one was injured during the fire and the damage to the church was contained to the front of the building.
According to the church’s pastor and building manager, Lorraine Kardash, the fire was located in an area where a Black Lives Matter sign had been hanging for a year.
Kardash said investigators told her they believe the fire was intentionally set and that they found the sign in bushes near the church.
The Rev. Anne Gresinger, president of the church council, also said a diversity banner hanging inside the church had been removed sometime in the last few months and could be connected.
Neighbors who spotted the fire did not see any potential suspects leave the scene, Kardash said.
The Portland police and fire departments and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said they are still investigating the fire and hoping to uncover what or who started it.
The church and local interfaith community are planning a peace picnic to gather as a community and stand up for diversity, Kardash said.