NYPD arrests man suspected of throwing Molotov cocktails at churches
Authorities in new York City arrested a suspect who threw Molotov cocktails at two churches in Queens. One attack targeted Iglesia Bautista “El Mesias,” and the other targeted the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses nearby. The buildings where not severely damaged, and there were no injuries, as firefighters quickly extinguished the fires. The 36-year-old suspect was caught with two additional Molotov cocktails and is believed too be linked to other similar incidents. Investigations are ongoing to determine his motives. These attacks follow a rise in crimes against religious institutions in NYC, including vandalism and attempted terror plots targeting Jewish communities. Authorities have also responded to related anti-semitic incidents, including vandalism and violent attacks on synagogues, with some experts attributing recent hostility to rhetoric surrounding protests and geopolitical tensions.
New York City authorities arrested a suspect accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at two churches in Queens on Wednesday evening.
The New York City Police Department apprehended the man after saying he threw a homemade bomb at the Iglesia Bautista “El Mesias” church at 97-44 75th Street and another Molototov cocktail at a second church, known as the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses at 78th Street, about half a mile away.
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The buildings did not sustain any serious damage from the explosions, and there were no injuries, according to police, as firefighters quickly put out both blazes.
The 36-year-old suspect had two additional Molotov cocktails in his bag when he was arrested at a nearby deli, according to the New York Post, which reported that investigators believe he may be tied to multiple similar incidents.
Charges are pending after he was taken into custody. Investigators are still working to determine why the two locations were targeted.
The attacks on the two churches come after crimes against other religious institutions, particularly Jewish houses of worship, have been on the rise in New York City.
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Authorities thwarted what they described as a terrorist attack at a prominent synagogue in May. Multiple synagogues, Jewish homes, and a car in Queens were vandalized with swastikas and other antisemitic graffiti in the same month.
The incidents came after a man was arrested on charges of repeatedly ramming his car into the Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters in Brooklyn in January, the same month a local man was arrested on charges of attacking a Queens rabbi on Holocaust Remembrance Day.
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