Woman behind Molotov cocktail attack on NYPD van facing federal counts; 2 others charged
From WWW.FOXNEWS.COM
An upstate New York woman now faces federal charges for allegedly firebombing a police vehicle in Brooklyn, as protests across the country grow increasingly violent following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis nearly a week ago.
Samantha Shader, 27, of Catskill, already had been charged with four counts of attempted murder, as well as attempted arson, assault, reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a weapon.
Shader has now been charged by the U. S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York with using an improvised incendiary device to damage or destroy a NYPD vehicle, the Brooklyn court said Sunday.
A video taken Friday night by a witness captured the 27-year-old Shader lighting a Molotov cocktail and throwing it at a police vehicle occupied by four officers in Crown Heights, shattering two of its windows. The device reportedly did not explode and all of the officers escaped.
“Molotov Cocktails are violent tools of individuals looking to inflict harm and damage our city,” NYPD Commissioner Dermot F. Shea said in a statement. “Crimes like these are devastating to their targets and also to the protestors and their right to free speech that police are working hard to protect.”
Officers pursued Shader as she attempted to flee and apprehended her. The criminal complaint said she later admitted in a statement to police that she had thrown the Molotov cocktail.
Her younger sister, Darian Shader, 21, was also taken into custody after trying to intervene in the arrest. She has been charged with resisting arrest and obstruction of justice and will be prosecuted by the Brooklyn District Attorney, but does not face federal charges, WABC reported.
A separate complaint filed in federal court charges a man and a woman, Colinford Mattis, 32, and Urooj Rahman, 31, both of Brooklyn, with possession of explosive device components.
An NYPD surveillance camera purportedly recorded Rahman tossing a Molotov cockta... (Read more)
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