CUMBERLAND COUNTY, N.C. — Deputies in North Carolina have arrested a man they said threw Molotov cocktails at two churches during services on Sunday.
Gray’s Creek Church and New Calvary Missionary, both in Cumberland County, were targeted Sunday, WTVD reported.
Surveillance video outside the New Calvary Missionary Baptist Church captured video of the attack. The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office shared the video to its Facebook page along with photos of the suspect’s car.
The video shows a person getting out of a car and throwing what appears to be a water bottle towards the steps of the church, and a flame ignites shortly after it lands.
Posted by Sheriff Ennis W. Wright: Cumberland County NC on Sunday, May 29, 2022
Investigators told WRAL that both churches were targeted within 30 minutes of each other. The churches are 10 miles apart.
Terry Raeford was arrested Monday and faces multiple charges, according to deputies who said he is cooperating with their investigation, WNCN reported.
A trustee of Gray’s Creek Missionary Baptist Church told WRAL that Sunday school was in session when the explosives were thrown, and that it sounded “like a shot.”
Church officials who spoke with WRAL said they don’t know what motivated someone to attack them.
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