Incident Summary:

04/14/2016: Assailants set fire to the Geelong West Presbyterian Church in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. There were no reported casualties, but the church was damaged in the attack. No group claimed responsibility for the incident; however, sources suggested that the attack may have been related to allegations of past sexual abuse by local priests.

GTD ID:
201604150070

When:
2016-04-14

Country:
Australia

Region:
Australasia & Oceania

Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:

Victoria

City:
Geelong

Attack Information
Type of Attack (more) Facility/Infrastructure Attack
Successful Attack? (more) Yes
Target Information (more)
Target Type: Religious Figures/Institutions
Name of Entity Geelong West Presbyterian Church
Specific Description Church
Nationality of Target Australia
Additional Information
Hostages No
Ransom No
Property Damage Yes
Extent of Property Damage Unknown
Value of Property Damage Unknown
Weapon Information
Type Sub-type
Incendiary Arson/Fire
Additional Information
Suicide Attack?No
Part of Multiple Incident?No
Criterion 1 (more) Yes
Criterion 2 (more) Yes
Criterion 3 (more) Yes
Doubt Terrorism Proper (more) No
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name Claimed Responsibility
Unknown No
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators Unknown
Number of Captured Perpetrators 0
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties 0 Fatalities / 0 Injured
Total Number of Fatalities 0
Number of U.S. Fatalities 0
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities 0
Total Number of Injured 0
Number of U.S. Injured 0
Number of Perpetrators Injured 0
Sources
"Who is burning Geelong's churches?," Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) News, May 18, 2016.
"Fire destroys Geelong West Presbyterian Church," Herald Sun (Australia), April 14, 2016.
"Geelong Presbyterian church fire being treated as suspicious," Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) News, April 14, 2016.