Church faces fire damage after surveillance footage shows man breaking in
By Justina Latimer
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NASHVILLE (WSMV) — A man was taken to the hospital after breaking into a church in Madison, allegedly starting a fire, and jumping out a window.
“It’s sad..” said Pastor Sergio Arce of Madison First Baptist Church.
Pastor Arce says he left his church last Thursday just before 5 pm. Shortly after, he found out someone was breaking into the church.
Ring camera footage shows a man ringing the doorbell, then smashing a window to gain entry.
“This individual did not burglarize anything. He didn’t take anything,” stated Pastor Arce.
When police arrived, the suspect, Jaron Ervin, was still in the building. According to police, Ervin later jumped from a window. When they asked how the fire started, he stated, “I was sending an S.O.S.”
“The room is just completely dark now. Things caught on fire. There is just a lot of ash, things that have pretty much deteriorated to nothing,” Arce explained.
Despite tons of damage and items destroyed in the church’s education wing, the pastor is looking at the positives.
“As devastating as it is to have to face damage that has been done to the church property, the positive side is the church is not the building,” said Arce.
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