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Armenian Consulate in LA condemns suspected arson at San Francisco church building

The Consulate General of Armenia in Los Angeles has expressed its deep concern in regard to the suspected arson that occurred on September 17th at the Armenian Community Center adjacent to the St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Church in San Francisco.

This followed the act of vandalism that took place on July 23rd at Krouzian-Zekarian Armenian School and its adjacent Armenian Community Center in San Francisco.

“The Consulate General of Armenia in Los Angeles strongly condemns all manifestations of hatred directed against the Armenian Community of the Bay Area. The Consulate General of Armenia will closely follow the law enforcement investigation expecting to see its outcome soon,” the Consulate said in a statement.

A building next to an Armenian church in San Francisco’s Laurel Heights burned down overnight Thursday.

Dispatchers received reports around 4 a.m. of a fire at the building next to the St. Gregory Armenian Apostolic Church. Fire crews arrived on scene not long after and managed to prevent it from spreading to the church, but the building was destroyed.

“The San Francisco Fire Department responded immediately, however, the building has suffered a great loss,” V. Rev. Fr. Smpad Saboundjian and church chairman Rostom Aintablian wrote in a message to parishioners.

District Attorney of San Francisco Chesa Boudin has expressed outrage at the arson at Armenian Church.

“The Armenian community of San Francisco woke up today to an arson at their church. There is no room for this cowardly, hateful, criminal conduct in San Francisco. We stand with the Armenian community against hate,” Mr. Boudin said in a Twitter post.

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