Overview
- The fire began around 3 a.m. Saturday at Beth Israel Congregation, destroying the library and administrative offices and leaving smoke damage throughout the building.
- Jackson’s chief fire investigator said the blaze was intentionally set, and the suspect was located at a hospital with non-life-threatening burns and is expected to be transferred to FBI custody.
- Synagogue leaders reported that several Torah scrolls were destroyed or damaged, while a Holocaust-surviving Torah in a glass case was unharmed.
- No injuries were reported, services are suspended, and local churches have offered space as leaders assess repairs and plan to rebuild.
- The probe includes the Jackson Fire Department and Police, the FBI, ATF, and the Joint Terrorism Task Force, with officials withholding the suspect’s identity and motive; the incident recalls a 1967 KKK bombing of the same synagogue.