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FBI joins probe of church shootings in FayetteFri, 01/23/2009 - 7:20pm
By: Cal Beverly
Gunshots strike 2 historically black churches while they were unoccupied The FBI has joined the probe into two incidents during the past week in which gunshots were fired into unoccupied black churches. Flat Rock A.M.E. Church located at 148 Old Chapel Lane, Fayetteville, Ga., an historic congregation that has been meeting for more than 150 years, was the latest to receive gunshot damage during a time when no one was at the church. Earlier this week, Peachtree City Police were investigating a shooting that damaged one of Fayette County’s oldest churches early Tuesday morning. Those shots were fired into the front door of Bethlehem Baptist Church, located on Dividend Drive between Kelly Drive and Crosstown Drive in what is now the city’s industrial park area. No one was at the church at the time, police said. Police said they have narrowed down the time frame the incident occurred at the Bethlehem Baptist Church from roughly 6:45 to 7:30 a.m., Tuesday, Jan. 20. Bethlehem is a predominantly black church and has been since its inception. Police are following all leads and possible motives for the incident, police said. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation helped process the scene, police said. Now with the second church shooting reported in the same week, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Peachtree City Police Department, and Fayette County Sheriff’s Office are cooperating in the expanded probe. The police report late Friday afternoon gave no details on the Flat Rock A.M.E. shooting. Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to call the FBI at 404-679-9000, the Peachtree City Police Department at 770-487-8866 and/or the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office at 770-461-6353. According to The Citizen archives, “The church originated in 1854 as a place of worship for slaves on Spears Plantation, which was approximately two miles south of the current church location. Flat Rock A.M.E. Church became the cornerstone for the organization of other African American churches in Fayette County. Church historical accounts and previous newspaper articles note that Flat Rock was the forerunner for the establishment of Little Vine Baptist, established in 1866; Edgefield Baptist, organized in 1870; and Wilkes Grove, organized in 1916. “The church has been rebuilt and remodeled several times over the years. In 1917, the church and many historical documents were destroyed by fire but the structure was rebuilt. In 1953, it was remodeled to add rest rooms and a choir loft. The current building was constructed in 1978.” Bethlehem Baptist “was first organized under a brush arbor in 1867 and in 1878 James A. Arnold, a white landowner, deeded two acres of land to the members. The first building was very near the present one at 475 South Dividend Drive, opposite Peachtree City’s Falcon Field. “This community, which was first known as Clover, is now Peachtree City. “In 1904 a tract of land was purchased behind the church to serve as its cemetery and it is still in use. “A school for African-American children, grades 1 through 7 operated there until 1954.” login to post comments
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