Early Saturday, a man drove his car into the First Baptist Church in Hudson, N.H., set fire to its entrance, and then turned his destructive path towards a neighboring 7-Eleven store. The suspect, 29-year-old Matthew Jackson of Salem, N.H., was quickly apprehended and charged with multiple counts, including arson and burglary, according to the Boston Herald.
The Herald noted that authorities were alerted to the incident around 2:30 a.m. by Jackson himself, who flagged down Hudson Police officers in the vicinity of Central and Greeley streets, where the First Baptist Church is located. During their on-scene investigation, officers found extensive fire damage at the church entrance and discovered that Jackson had crashed his Nissan Versa into the side of the church, causing further damage to both the building and the car.
As officers continued to investigate the situation at the church, they were alerted to an attempted break-in at the 7-Eleven store located nearby at 230 Central St. Preliminary findings showed that an individual had tried to smash the convenience store's front doors open using a fire extinguisher retrieved from a cabinet in the parking lot. The unsuccessful break-in attempt resulted in damage to the glass and locking mechanism of the doors, as well as the cabinet where the fire extinguisher was stored. The fire extinguisher was then found emptied, having been sprayed across the parking lot and the front of the 7-Eleven according to the Lowell Sun.
Authorities subsequently developed probable cause to believe that Jackson was behind the chaos at both the church and the 7-Eleven. He was charged with Class A felonies of arson and burglary, three counts of Class A misdemeanor criminal mischief, Class A misdemeanor conduct after an accident, and Class A misdemeanor resisting arrest per Yahoo! News. The motive behind Jackson's disturbing actions remains unclear at this time; the Hudson Police Department continues to investigate this unusual and alarming case of property damage and criminal behavior.
