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VANCOUVER, Wash. – Clark County deputies are trying to figure out who broke through the windows of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Vancouver and set hymnals and the pulpit on fire.
A group of basketball players in the church gym smelled smoke before 7 a.m. and ran to the chapel.
“Opened the back doors of the chapel. The pulpit, where the speakers stand to speak on Sunday, was fully inflamed,” said Ron Kramer, one of the basketball players.
The men quickly grabbed fire extinguishers and tried to knock down the flames. They shoved the material into a bin, and rolled it outside. One of them called the fire department.
“I’ve been playing ball here for almost 30 years, three mornings a week. They probably didn’t know we came in and played,” Ivan Jensen said. He also said the person left behind a message in what appeared to be whipped cream or shaving cream. “It said, ‘Ha ha.’”
The person, or people, broke into the church through a window.
“This is a house of God. This is a sacred place for us. It’s just sad,” said Kramer.
Someone set fire to these hymnals and set them on top of a church pulpit in Vancouver. #KGWnews @KGWNews pic.twitter.com/AXNUES7nUw
— Rachael Rafanelli (@RachaelKGW) April 8, 2016
Our first look inside the church in Vancouver where someone set the pulpit on fire @KGWNews pic.twitter.com/Bel7jiZsI3
— Rachael Rafanelli (@RachaelKGW) April 8, 2016
Brandon is the husband to an incredibly talented soccer mom, a father to the cutest 4-year old twins you have ever seen, and the doggy daddy to two Goldendoodles named Jake and Penny. Brandon has served in various church capacities including full-time missionary in Madrid, Spain, youth instructor, Young Men’s Presidency, Executive Secretary, temple worker, and Elders Quorum Presidency. Brandon is the owner of LDSBookstore.com which has been featured as one of the fastest-growing companies in Utah. He enjoys playing basketball, ping-pong, and throwing his twins in the air.
