Authorities in North Carolina announced that they have arrested the man seen in surveillance footage throwing Molotov cocktails toward two churches.
North Carolina Police have apprehended 57 year old Terry Wayne Raeford of Fayetteville and charged him with two counts of "manufacture, assembly, possession, storage, transportation, sale, purchase, delivery, or acquisition of a weapon of mass death and destruction," as well as two counts of "malicious damage to occupied property by use of explosive or incendiary; punishment." The Fayetteville man was captured by surveillance video when he hurled Molotov cocktails toward two churches over the Memorial Day weekend.
Fox News reported that Cumberland County Sheriff Ennis W. Wright made the announcement on Monday. The sheriff said that Raeford was identified by investigators with the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office as the suspect who threw the Molotov cocktails at Grays Creek Church at 10:37 a.m. and New Calvary Missionary at about 11:08 a.m. on Sunday.
Authorities Sought Black Suspect Caught in Surveillance Video
Following the crimes on Sunday, North Carolina Police sought information on an unidentified Black male driving a four-door gray car with tinted windows. The Fayetteville man was captured on surveillance video from two churches. Video released by authorities showed him pulling into the parking lot of one of the two churches and throwing what appeared to be a bottle in the direction of the building. It then ignited on the grass by the sidewalk.
Shortly after, the Fayetteville man headed to the second church and threw a similar bottle outside the building. The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office Arson Unit initially asked for help from the public to identify the suspect who committed the crimes, the Christian Headlines reported. Raeford is now "fully cooperating with the investigation," Wright said. The Fayetteville man is being held at Cumberland County Detention Center on a $200,000 secured bond and is set to appear in court on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.
Also Read:Vandals Continue Attacking Churches, Defacing And Destroying Church Property
Massive Fire Burned Abandoned Church in Florida
Meanwhile in Florida, an abandoned church in Wilton Manors had been set on fire in April, NBC 6 South Florida reported. The fire engulfed the building that was formerly the Church of the Science of the Minds. Wilton Manor Police officers who were patrolling the area found the flames at around 4 a.m. and up to 75 firefighters responded to put out the flames. Fire officials said that the building had no power running for a long time now, which meant that someone had intentionally set it on fire.
Because the building was abandoned, the neighborhood said it had been an eyesore for them. Neighbors said that homeless people have used the building and squatted there, causing the owner to board up the windows and doors to keep people away. John Fiore, the East Neighborhood Association president said that the building had "No electricity, no gas, something has to ignite it and probably a human interaction that did it."
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