Incident Summary:

01/07/2017: An assailant set fire to St. Stephen Presbyterian Church on MacPherson Avenue in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. There were no reported casualties in the attack. The assailant, identified as Thomas Dale Britton, claimed responsibility for the incident and "left graffiti in an attempt to implicate a terrorist group such as ISIS" at the scene of the attack.

GTD ID:
201701070022

When:
2017-01-07

Country:
United States

Region:
North America

Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:

Texas

City:
Fort Worth

Attack Information
Type of Attack (more) Facility/Infrastructure Attack
Successful Attack? (more) Yes
Target Information (more)
Target Type: Religious Figures/Institutions
Name of Entity St. Stephen Presbyterian Church
Specific Description Church
Nationality of Target United States
Additional Information
Hostages No
Ransom No
Property Damage Yes
Extent of Property Damage Minor (likely < $1 million)
Value of Property Damage $784,000.00
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
Anti-Muslim extremists Yes (Confirmed: Unknown; Mode: Note left at scene)
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators 1
Number of Captured Perpetrators 1
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
"Jury reaches verdict in 5 minutes on ‘historic criminal mischief’ of Fort Worth church," Star-Telegram, August 23, 2018.
"Man arrested for vandalism at historic Fort Worth church," KDFW FOX 4 News, January 11, 2017.
"Police Arrest Man, 21, Suspected in Vandalism of FW Church," NBC Dallas-Fort Worth, January 10, 2017.