FāVS News News and Commentary about Religion and Ethics in Eastern Washington and North Idaho
Around 4 a.m. Tuesday, police arrived at Life Center Foursquare Church at 1202 W. Government Way to find a Toyota station wagon had jumped the curb and crashed through the north wall of the church and onto the main stage of the auditorium, according to a news release.
The driver fled the scene and police have not arrested anyone. Detectives, however, have identified a person of interest in the incident, according to the release.
There is no evidence to indicate the incident was a hate crime, the release said.
Administrative Pastor Blake Folden said the congregation is praying for the driver of the vehicle.
“We wouldn’t ask for this, but it could be somebody who is just hurting so bad,” Folden said in the Spokesman-Review.“It could be someone with mental health disorders or alcohol problems.”
This weekends worship services have not been canceled.
Tracy Simmons is an award-winning journalist specializing in religion reporting and digital entrepreneurship. In her approximate 20 years on the religion beat, Simmons has tucked a notepad in her pocket and found some of her favorite stories aboard cargo ships in New Jersey, on a police chase in Albuquerque, in dusty Texas church bell towers, on the streets of New York and in tent cities in Haiti. Simmons has worked as a multimedia journalist for newspapers across New Mexico, Texas, Connecticut and Washington. She is the executive director of SpokaneFāVS.com, a digital journalism start-up covering religion news and commentary in Spokane, Washington. She also writes for The Spokesman-Review and national publications. She is a Scholarly Assistant Professor of Journalism at Washington State University.
