12-year-olds charged for starting fire inside Massachusetts church, police say

EAST BRIDGEWATER, Mass. (WLNE) — The two 12-year-olds who were found to be the suspects who started a fire inside an East Bridgewater church are now facing criminal charges.

According to East Bridgewater Police Chief Michael Jenkins, a 12-year-old boy and 12-year-old girl are both charged with one count of breaking and entering a building in the daytime, a felony, destruction of property over $1,200, larceny from a building and burning of a building.

Officials said that on Friday, October 6, emergency responders were called to the St. John the Evangelist Church on Central Street for report of vandalism.

Initial investigations determined that a fire was set near the alter, damaging the alter cloth as well as a bible.

East Bridgewater Police shared this photo of a burnt alter cloth in a church that was vandalized by 12-year-olds.

Further investigation and statements from a witness led police to identify the two juveniles, a 12-year-old boy and 12-year-old girl, as the ones who started the fire.