After being irreparably damaged by a fire this week, a historic, 117-year-old church in Portland, Oregon, is being demolished.
For reportedly setting the church on fire, police detained Cameron David Storer, 27, who also goes by the name Nicolette Fait. In a press release outlining the accusations against Storer, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt‘s office used the pronoun “they” to refer to Storer.
Two counts of first-degree arson, one case of second-degree arson, and two counts of second-degree burglary were brought against Storer.
After Portland Fire and Rescue concluded through drone footage that the building had received too much structural damage to be saved, the decision to demolish the 3,000-square-foot Old Portland Korean Church, which opened in 1905, was made and began on Friday; following the three-alarm fire on Tuesday.
“They’re not very confident that those will be salvageable once the building gets knocked over. Having a piece from the building really enforces our ability to tell that story,” Val Ballestrem, of the local Architectural Heritage Center, told KPTV. As neighborhood preservationists watched in hopes of saving some of the building, workers toppled the 100-year-old steeple of the church.
#Breaking: Portland Fire responding to third-alarm structure fire at 933 Clay Street in #Portland. Crews are in defensive attack, potential for structural collapse per PIO. @fox12oregon pic.twitter.com/zacoW1KAWf
— Jaden Schaul (@jadenschaul) January 4, 2023
Stained glass windows, the church’s cornerstone, and the weathervane are among the items the preservationists want to keep.
Local Hank Schottland said, “What was really interesting was how the main tower flexed. They pushed it pretty hard and it’s a pretty big machine and so it flexed before it fell, they really had to work hard. Whoever is operating that crane really has an unbelievable skill set to see how he will maneuver get stuff to where he needed and then push in the right direction. It’s a horrible thing to have happen but to see them take it down is pretty impressive.”
Authorities added that Storer tried to “take credit” for the fire by claiming to have used a Bic lighter to start it. Local authorities also claim that the church had not been actively used for ten years prior to the incident.
According to the district attorney’s office, Storer, who apparently has a history of schizophrenia, told investigators that voices in his head threatened to “mutilate” him if he did not destroy the church.
Storer also claimed to take 10-oxycodone per day from another injury, as Police said.
The steeple of a historic Portland church came crashing down Friday afternoon. The building was more than a century old when an arsonist set a three-alarm fire that tore through the building Tuesday evening. pic.twitter.com/2YE5NtaOQK
— FOX 12 Oregon (@fox12oregon) January 6, 2023
Sources: DailyWire, KPTV, ConservativeNewsDaily, Mcda.us, Foxnews