HOLLYWOOD, FLA. (WSVN) - A Hollywood resident hopes police find a suspected arsonist who, he said, threw a Molotov cocktail into a gated community.
A surveillance camera captured the subject appearing to throw a bottle over a wall inside West Lake Village, at around 4 a.m. on June 16.
The security footage captured a big ball of flames seconds later.
Concerned resident Michael Hoffman spoke with 7News on Friday.
“Bizarre, you know, it’s just really random,” he said.
Hoffman and his family live right next to the wall where, he said, the Molotov cocktail was thrown.
“Just a loud explosion, one explosion,” he said.
Hoffman said he saw a burned spot on the ground and broken glass just a few feet away from his home.
“I figured it was the storm, if anything,” he said.
The Molotov cocktail was made with a beer bottle and gauze.
The good news is that it landed on the street and not on the dry grass, which could have caused a grass fire.
On Wednesday, 7News reported another incident on the Hollywood Boardwalk where, police said, a subject threw a Molotov cocktail towards the rear of Broadwalk Restaurant, located along the 1400 block of North Surf Road, around 4:45 a.m.
Danielle Thomas, the restaurant’s co-owner, said she couldn’t believe it when she saw it on her surveillance camera.
“It did burn the back alleyway and burnt the bucket and almost burnt our ice machine,” she said. “The driveway was caught on fire.”
In this case, surveillance cameras did capture the person and the red Toyota Corolla he was driving.
However, detectives do not believe this incident is connected to what happened at West Lake Village.
Hoffman hopes detectives will find out who’s behind this suspected arson attack and why they did it.
“I don’t know. I’d like to think it wasn’t aimed at my house,” he said.
Hoffman is also thankful no one was hurt and no major damage was done.
If you have any information on either incident that could help police, call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.
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