Photo: Cumberland County Sheriff's Office
Authorities in North Carolina have arrested a man suspected of throwing Molotov cocktails at two churches over the weekend. The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office said that the first incident occurred on Sunday (May 29) at Grays Creek Church just after 10:30 a.m. while church services were in session.
About 30 minutes later, the suspect also threw a Molotov cocktail at New Calvary Missionary Baptist Church, which is about ten miles away from the other church. Surveillance video captured the man throwing a plastic water bottle toward the front of the church. It hit the ground and started a grass fire. Members of the congregation rushed outside and extinguished the flames.
There were no reports of injuries or major damage.
Investigators reviewed the surveillance camera footage and identified 57-year-old Terry Wayne Raeford as the suspect. He was taken into custody and charged with two counts of manufacture, assembly, possession, storage, transportation, sale, purchase, delivery, or acquisition of a weapon of mass death and destruction and two counts of malicious damage to occupied property by use of explosive or incendiary.
He is being held on a $200,000 secured bond.
Officials said that Raeford is coopering with the investigators but has not revealed why he attacked the two churches.