Authorities say a 58-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of throwing “an incendiary device” at a car on a crowded Belmont Shore street this weekend.
Firefighters responded to reports of a vehicle on fire at about 2 p.m. Sunday near the intersection of Second Street and St. Joseph Avenue, according to the Long Beach Fire Department.
Diners at Saint & Second, a restaurant near the intersection, witnessed the apparent assault. A man got out of his car and threw something onto the car behind him, which caught fire, said Margaret Tirado, a manager at the restaurant.
A Good Samaritan got out of his car and quickly helped put out the fire, Tirado said. Video from the scene shows him and others rushing to extinguish the flames that were burning under the hood of a blue Mazda sedan.
No injuries were reported. The LBFD is still assessing the damage, which they said affected multiple cars.
Arson investigators were also piecing together what led to the apparent attack, said LBFD Capt. Jack Crabtree. He described the attacker’s weapon only as “an incendiary device.” Bystanders said it appeared to be a makeshift firebomb like a Molotov cocktail.
A man, identified as Fredrick Aaron Merritt, was arrested near the intersection on suspicion of attempted murder, arson and possession of flammable material, according to jail records.
Merritt was booked into jail and was being held in lieu of $1 million bail.