Police Search For Suspect After D.C. Businesses Attacked With Explosives, Molotov Cocktail

 Authorities are looking for suspects after businesses in Washington, D.C., were targeted by explosives and a Molotov cocktail early Sunday morning.

A suspect detonated an explosive device on the sidewalk near the ATM at the Truist Bank in Northeast D.C. around 4:30 a.m., the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) said in a release.

Within the next 15 minutes, two other locations in the Northeast part of town were attacked. According to police, a suspect detonated an explosive device on the sidewalk outside a Nike storefront at around 4:36 a.m., and then a suspect threw a “Molotov cocktail style object” at a Safeway grocery store at approximately 4:45 a.m.

The attack caused damage in each incident, and the suspect fled in a vehicle, according to police.

“In each of these offenses, it appears the suspect targeted commercial establishments and it does not appear the suspect was targeting any members of the public,” the MPD release said. “The establishments were closed at the time of the offenses. There were no reported injuries as a result of these offenses.”

A man who is reportedly coping with PTSD and lives in an apartment above the ATM that was attacked described to NBC Washington what it was like when the explosive detonated.

“It shook my living room. It knocked all of my security cameras off the wall. It knocked my pictures off the wall. It pretty much rattled me,” the man said.

Police indicated there could be more than one suspect. The MPD release showed what it said were surveillance camera images of one of the suspects — showing from behind an individual wearing a gray hoodie and dark pants — and one of the suspects’ vehicles, “described as a gold/champagne color Acura TL with a Maryland plate: 17971CK.”

Patricia Eguino, a local Advisory Neighborhood Commission member who spoke to ABC affiliate WJLA, called the incidents “disturbing but not extremely surprising,” citing the “rise of crime” around the nation’s capital.

 

MPD, in partnership with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, is offering up to $20,000 in reward money for information leading up to the arrest and conviction of those involved in the destruction of property with explosives.

As of early Monday afternoon, authorities have yet to announce any arrests. Police said anyone with relevant information is encouraged to call MPD at 202-727-9099 or text the tip line at 50411.