NYC firebombings called personal, not political
New York City police have arrested a man suspected of five firebomb attacks Sunday night that may be hate crimes.
Update at 8:22 pm ET: The 40-year-old suspect, who is of Guyanese descent, told police he threw two small firebombs at an Islamic center in Queens because he was denied use of the bathroom, a law enforcement official tells the Associated Press. He also told police he had personal grievances with the other four targets, including the home of a relative in neighboring Nassau County.
AP writes that the unidentified source said the suspect made broad anti-Muslim statements and could be charged with a hate crime.
He was tracked through a stolen car with Virginia license plates believed spotted at at least two of the attacks. Police said he has previous arrests for drugs, passing bad checks and weapons possession.
Update at 4:12 pm ET: Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the suspect was believed to be at the scene of at least two of the Queens attacks on a bodega, the Imam Al-Khoei Benevolent Foundation, an Islamic cultural center where about 80 people were worshiping, and two homes, one of which was used as a Hindu temple.
Police also suspect the man is responsible for a failed fifth attack Sunday night on a home in Elmont, just over the Nassau County border. A homeowner told police he heard glass shattering, smelled gasoline and found a broken glass bottle on his porch.
The suspect is believed to be the same person kicked out of the convenience store Dec. 27 for trying to steal a glass Starbucks bottle and milk, police have said.
No one was hurt in any of the attacks and there was little damage.
Fox provides this chronology:
The first hit was at 8 pm, when a bottle was thrown at a counter at the corner convenience store where the man was kicked out.
Ten minutes later, a possible firebomb smashed through the glass at a nearby home, setting it on fire and badly damaging it. Three children were inside.
About half an hour later, the Imam Al-Khoei Foundation, an Islamic center, was hit with two, one at the entrance where about 80 worshippers were dining, and one near a sign for the centers grade school.
And shortly after 10 pm, two bottles were thrown at a house that police said was used for Hindu worship services, causing minimal fire damage.
Update at 4:01 pm ET: Police spokesman Paul Browne says the unidentified man made statements implicating himself in the attacks and had personal grievances with each targeted location, the Associated Press reports.
Original post: A suspect has been arrested in four firebombings in New York City on Sunday night, according to news reports.
Police said earlier today they had picked up a suspect driving a car with Virginia license plates.
The suspected hate-crime attacks targeted an Islamic center and a Hindu temple. The Molotov cocktails were made from Starbucks drinks bottles.
Fox News reports that a law enforcement source told Fox affiliate WNYW-TV that the suspect confessed under questioning.