Police and federal authorities are investigating what they believe to be an arson attack on the Museum of African American History in Boston this week. The incident, which occurred outside the institution’s African Meeting House site on Beacon Hill, saw a package containing items for an upcoming Juneteenth celebration set on fire.

Museum president and CEO Noelle Trent reported that security footage shows a man opening the package, scattering some of its contents, and igniting several items in an alley behind the historic building. The materials targeted were clearly marked as Juneteenth-related.

For Trent, this feels like a hate crime given the proximity to the oldest existing Black church building in the country: ‘The burning near such significant historical grounds is quite unnerving.’ Authorities are working with civil rights groups to identify potential bias motives but have not classified it as a hate crime.

The museum’s Boston campus includes the African Meeting House, the oldest surviving Black church building in the US, and the Abiel Smith School. Any fire near these structures could have posed a serious threat to both historic buildings and the surrounding neighborhood.

Police are seeking public help to identify the suspect, described as a white man wearing dark jacket, dark pants, and white sneakers. The investigation continues alongside the National Park Service.