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A Bible was set on fire beneath a Christmas tree in New Haven, Conn., at around midnight on Monday, causing $1,200 in damages, it was reported.
Police and firefighters responded to a call, and found a Bible soaked in some kind of fluid and placed on the feeder cables that power the lights around the tree. The power was turned off to prevent further damage, and responders extinguished the fire without much trouble.
The Parks Department has since repaired most of the damage and the 65-foot spruce tree’s lights have been restored, The Hartford Courant reported.
Not much is known about the incident. Investigators are looking for suspects, and are treating it as a vandalism case, The Christian Post was told Tuesday. However, due to the Bible being burned up, some observers are calling the incident a hate crime.
In the comments section of the Courant article, a user named "baborn3" asked: "Will this 'Hate Crime' be investigated as such?"
Another user named "catalinda8" suggested that the incident was mostly meant to provoke others and cause a reaction: "Probably just some rotten teenager knowing it would set people to hair pullin' and hand wringin', as it has."
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Some residents of New Haven who saw the burning Christmas tree and heard that a Bible was used to start the fire shared their reaction to the news with The New Haven Register.
Lola Odiaga, who was walking her dog near the place of the incident, said that the crime was "a little bit sick." She continued, "I cannot imagine what the meaning of that is."
One of the park department workers who helped restore the tree, Jeff Ryan, told the publication that it was not the first time someone had started dangerous fires around the area, revealing that a port-a-potty was set on fire a few weeks prior. He said, however, that burning a Bible was crossing the line.
"Isn't anything sacred? You really get ticked about it."
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