Thursday, July 21, 2016

Florida police car set on fire; Black Lives Matter note left

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/07/18/14/36635FD500000578-0-image-a-2_1468848051231.jpg

·  A police cruiser parked in front of the Islamic Center of Daytona, Florida, was firebombed Sunday
·  Police say a note reading 'F--k the police!!!' and 'Black Lives Matter' was found at the scene
·  It also references Alton Sterlin and Philando Castile, two black men whose recent shooting deaths at the hands of cops have sparked outrage
Detectives are yet to determine if the attack was the work of actual anti-police protesters
A squad car in Florida was set on fire with a Molotov cocktail in what appears to be more anti-cop backlash following the shootings of two black men that have sparked protests throughout the nation.
The police cruiser was parked in front of the Islamic Center of Daytona about 2:30am Sunday when it was set on fire.
The car was fully engulfed in flames when police firefighters arrived.
Fire crews responded and put the fire out. No one was injured.   
Police said a note was found at the scene. 
'BLACK LIVES MATTER. A. Sterling. P. Castile,' the note said, referencing the shootings of Alton Sterling, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile in St. Paul, Minnesota.
'F--k the police!!!' the note concluded. 
The burning comes amid rising tension nationwide following the shootings — which were the impetus behind the massacre of five cops in Dallas.
Also Sunday, a gunman shot and killed three law enforcement officers in Baton Rouge.
Despite the note, police Chief Mike Chitwood cautioned against assigning blame until a thorough investigation takes place, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported.
Detectives are yet to conclude if this firebombing was the work of actual anti-police protesters.
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This police cruiser car was set on fire while parked outside the Islamic Center of Daytona Beach. Detectives are yet to determine who was behind the firebomb
'I really do believe in my heart of hearts that we have a really great rapport with our community overall — they know that if there's a problem, they can come and talk to us,' Chitwood told the newspaper.
'But there is a radical, small percentage that I think is trying to drive a wedge between all of us.'
Chitwood says the attack caused more than $20,000 in damage to the cruiser.
The chief added the cruiser had been stationed to protect the Islamic Center from potential backlash following the June 12 massacre at an Orlando night club, in which gunman Omar Mateen killed 49 people in the name of the extremist group Islamic State.
'If you notice what's going on in America today, it's like they're taking a page out of ISIS,' Chitwood told the News-Journal.
'Find the disenfranchised folks that don't want to fix things the right way, and have them be fanatical in their attacks — and it's sad.
'Certainly not the world I want my grandkids to grow up in.'

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