Michigan Church Member May Have Planted Molotov Cocktails to Burn Church, Pastor Tells Police

By Morgan Lee, Christian Post Reporter Wednesday, December 11, 2013

A member of a demolition team from Task Force Alpha, 2nd Marine Division, displays a Molotov cocktail that failed to work during Operation Desert Storm. | (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Authorities in Oakland County, Mich., are currently investigating whether a church member attempted to burn down his church using Molotov cocktails earlier this week.

A Pontiac minister, whose congregation authorities have declined to identify, found an unexploded Molotov cocktail next to the church building on Dec. 8, according to The Detroit Free Press.

The Oakland County Sheriff's Department reports that the minister threw the bottle into the garbage and did not report the the weapon until two hours later when services were over. The sheriff's department later found another bomb near the church.

A former church member had threatened to burn the church down before and could have been the one who planted the Molotov cocktail, the minister told authorities.

The Detroit Free Press reports that, "Waterford Regional Fire Authority investigators determined no one had tried to ignite the device before it was found."

Authorities have not made any arrests yet, though they suspect a 39-year-old man. The investigation is ongoing.