DC man arrested, charged with throwing a Molotov cocktail at police
WASHINGTON - Capitol police arrested a man who had two Molotov cocktails near Union Station Wednesday afternoon.
Authorities say around 3:30 p.m., two USCP patrol officers received a report that someone had Molotov cocktails along Massachusetts Avenue, Northwest near Union Station.
According to the officers, the suspect — who has been identified as 26-year-old Bernard L. McCutcheon — threw one of the Molotov cocktails at the officers while trying to light it.
McCutcheon tried to flee, but the officers stopped him.
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He dropped another Molotov cocktail that was made out of a tequila bottle stuffed with a sock and a liquid that the USCP Hazardous Material Response team later determined to be a petroleum-based accelerant. Police recovered a backpack that had two more bottles of liquid at the scene.
Two officers were treated for minor injuries after the incident.
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"Thankfully, they are going to be ok," said acting Assistant Chief of Police for Uniformed Operations Sean Gallagher. "We appreciate their quick action that, without a doubt, kept the community safer."
McCutcheon, a Washington, D.C. resident, was charged with two counts of assaulting a police officer, one count of possession of a Molotov cocktail, and one count pf assault with a deadly weapon.
There is no indication he was targeting the U.S. Capitol or Members of Congress, police say. It is also not believed the suspect was involved in any protests in the area.