RESEDA : City Offers Reward Over Church Arson

The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to offer a $10,000 reward for the arsonists who set three fires in the last eight months at Grace Hungarian Reform Church in Reseda.

The 140-member church, 18858 Erwin St., was destroyed by an arson-caused fire Dec. 13, a $300,000 loss, said church officials, who fear that their church may be the target of hate crimes.

Although the city does not normally offer rewards in fires, these fires have presented such a “bizarre and really frustrating case” that a reward was warranted, said City Councilwoman Joy Picus, who proposed it.

In the spring, two other fires hit the church property, which has also been home to a Salvadoran congregation.