A Landry Parish sheriff deputy's son has been arrested in connection with fires that gutted three black churches in the Louisiana parish over a span of 10 days, CBS News reports. The first fire destroyed St. Mary's Baptist Church in Port Barre on March 26, followed by a April 2 conflagration at Greater Union Baptist Church in Opelousas and an April 4 fire at Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church in Opelousas. All three historically black churches are a few miles apart, and each has been active in the community for more than 100 years, The Acadiana Advocate reports.
KATC-TV identified the person in custody as 21-year-old Holden Matthews.
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