A fire at a church in southwest Calgary early Thursday morning was intentionally set, Calgary police say.
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Emergency crews responded to reports of a fire at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, at 10923 24th St. S.W., shortly before 4 a.m., the Calgary Fire Department said.
Crews found no fire at the scene, but did find a broken window and called police.
Crews waited for a key holder to arrive before doing a search of the building. Inside, crews found signs of a small fire that had created a slight haze in the building and caused minor damage to a carpet, CFD said.
Calgary police were called to the scene around 4:35 a.m.
Investigators believe the fire was intentionally set, police said in a statement.
The Calgary Fire Department and the Calgary police arson unit are investigating, along with the CPS hate crimes prevention unit, police said.
A representative for the church called it “an isolated incident,” and said the building has not been previously targeted.
“What’s perplexing is that we really don’t know why this has happened and what the rationale was,” said Greg Stringham, Calgary region communications director for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“We’re just waiting for the police to complete their investigation,” Stringham said.
The fire affected one of the building’s chapels and caused minimal damage, according to Stringham, who said broken windows were being repaired on Thursday.
“It could have been worse,” Stringham added, thanking emergency personnel for a quick response.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact police at 403-266-1234.