New York police search for a suspect and a motive after 11 police vehicles are torched
NEW YORK (AP) — A man suspected of torching 11 New York City police vehicles in Brooklyn last week — the first of two such arson attacks in the last week — was previously arrested at pro-Palestinian protests and is wanted for damaging a statue at Columbia University last fall, police said.
The NYPD on Wednesday released photos and a video of the suspect, a 21-year-old man from New Jersey, and asked the public for help finding him. He remained at large as of Thursday.
Police are also investigating whether he is also responsible for attempting to set fire Wednesday to a police van in another part of Brooklyn.
In the first attack, police said, a man climbed over a gate around 1 a.m. on June 12 and placed fire starters on the windshields, hoods and tires of multiple vehicles in a police parking lot about a block from a police station in Brooklyn's Bushwick neighborhood.
The man then fled on foot, police said, citing surveillance video they said placed the 21-year-old suspect at the crime scene. None of the vehicles were occupied and no injuries were reported.
On Wednesday, police said, a fire starter was found on a police van parked outside a diner in Brooklyn's Williamsburg section. NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said the device was similar but not the same brand as the ones used in Bushwick.
After last week's fire, Mayor Eric Adams suggested that the suspect was connected to protests in Los Angeles, New York and elsewhere over the Trump administration's immigration enforcement agenda. Police, however, have not made that connection.
The suspect has two pending criminal cases in the city, according to court records.
On May 28, he was arrested in Manhattan and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest for allegedly obstructing traffic and refusing to move. In May 2024, he was arrested in Queens and charged with assault and resisting arrest. He has pleaded not guilty in both cases.
He has yet to be charged in the arson attack or the Columbia University vandalism last September. There, Kenny said, he disguised himself as a student and caused over $1,000 of damage to a campus statue.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Toronto Star
23 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
Rwandan opposition leader arrested over alleged plot against authorities
KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — A prominent opposition leader in Rwanda has been arrested on charges she assisted an alleged plot to incite public unrest. Victoire Ingabire was arrested on Thursday and is being detained in the Rwandan capital of Kigali. Her team of international lawyers in a statement called her arrest 'baseless and politically motivated.'
Winnipeg Free Press
31 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Rwandan opposition leader arrested over alleged plot against authorities
KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — A prominent opposition leader in Rwanda has been arrested on charges she assisted an alleged plot to incite public unrest. Victoire Ingabire was arrested on Thursday and is being detained in the Rwandan capital of Kigali. Her team of international lawyers in a statement called her arrest 'baseless and politically motivated.' The Rwanda Investigations Bureau links Ingabire to alleged subversion after her name was mentioned in an ongoing criminal case against nine people accused of plotting to overthrow the government of President Paul Kagame. The Rwanda Investigations Bureau said it was probing her alleged role in creating a criminal gang. Ingabire appeared in court Thursday to be questioned by prosecutors who charged that she had been communicating with the nine suspects. Among the suspects is a journalist named Theoneste Nsengimana. The rest are members of the DALFA-Umurinzi group, a party led by Ingabire that is not recognized by authorities. Ingabire previously led the FDU-Inkingi group, a coalition of opposition parties that also was never permitted to register with the government. Ingabire spent 16 years in exile in the Netherlands and returned to Rwanda to launch an opposition political movement in 2010 but was imprisoned before she could contest the presidential election. She was later found guilty of conspiracy to undermine the government and denying Rwanda's 1994 genocide, charges she denied. Sentenced to 15 years, she was freed in 2018 after obtaining presidential pardon. But Kagame has since threatened Ingabire with a possible return to jail. In 2020 the president said that Ingabire should not be shocked if she is locked up again. Her lawyers say she has committed no crimes. 'This re-arrest is simply the latest step in an ongoing campaign of harassment and intimidation which the Rwandan government has been carrying out' against Ingabire, the statement from her lawyers said. Three decades after a genocide that killed an estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus, Rwanda's president has won international praise for presiding over a peaceful and rapid economic recovery. But Kagame has faced criticism for what human rights groups say are widespread abuses, a muzzling of independent media and suppression of political opposition. He denies the accusations. ____ AP's Africa coverage at:
Toronto Star
an hour ago
- Toronto Star
British superyacht Bayesian resurfaces for 1st time since August sinking ahead of recovery
ROME (AP) — The British superyacht that sank off Sicily last August killing seven people resurfaced for the first time Friday as salvage recovery crews readied it to be hauled ashore for further investigation. The white top and blue hull of the 56-meter (184-foot) Bayesian emerged from the depths of the sea in a holding area of a yellow floating crane barge. The coast guard said the actual recovery was scheduled to begin Saturday morning.
