Man seen on video hurling Molotov cocktail at NC church is facing charges, cops say
A man drove up to a North Carolina church and hurled a Molotov cocktail toward it, video shows.
The 57-year-old is accused of throwing a second device at another church on Sunday, May 29.
Now, he faces multiple charges in the two incidents. The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office in a news release didn’t list attorney information for the man, identified as Terry Wayne Raeford.
Just after 10:30 a.m., deputies responded to Gray’s Creek Missionary Baptist Church in Hope Mills, where a Molotov cocktail reportedly was tossed at the building. About a half-hour later, a similar report was made at nearby New Calvary Missionary Baptist Church in Fayetteville, roughly 65 miles south of Raleigh.
At one of the churches, a man was seen getting out of a car with a bottle-like device in his hand before throwing it toward the steps of a building. That’s when a small fire started near a sidewalk and patch of grass, according to footage that the sheriff’s office posted on Facebook.
“Security cameras captured the suspect(s)‘ vehicle at both locations,” officials wrote. “No injuries were reported in either incident.”
Raeford, a Fayetteville resident, was arrested May 30. He was taken to the Cumberland County jail and given a $200,000 bond.
Officials said Raeford has been “charged with two counts of Manufacture, Assembly, Possession, Storage, Transportation, Sale, Purchase, Delivery, or Acquisition of Weapon of Mass Death and Destruction; Exceptions, and two counts of Malicious Damage of Occupied Property by Use of Explosive or Incendiary; Punishment.”
Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff’s office arson investigation team at 910-321-6786. People can also contact Crimestoppers at 910-483-8477, through the P3 Tips mobile application or on fay-nccrimestoppers.org.
This story was originally published May 31, 2022 at 7:28 AM with the headline "Man seen on video hurling Molotov cocktail at NC church is facing charges, cops say."
