Police from the 102nd Precinct in Richmond Hill took a man into custody early Thursday morning after he allegedly threw Molotov cocktails at religious buildings in Ozone Park and Woodhaven. Yogesh Sayrange, 36, of Pitkin Avenue in Ozone Park is being held without in federal custody after he made an appearance before a federal judge in connection to an arson incident at a Brooklyn smoke shop after he allegedly threatened to behead the shop keeper last month. He has not yet been charged for the arson incidents in Queens, but he will be indicted at a later date, according to a source familiar with the investigation.
Yogesh Sayrange, a Guyanese citizen living in Ozone Park, who was already being investigated by the NYPD and ATF for allegedly firebombing a smoke shop in Brooklyn last month, has not yet been charged by the feds for the arson incidents in Queens but he is expected to be indicted soon, according to a source familiar with the investigation. Photo courtesy of the NYPD
In the first incident, on Wednesday night, Sayrange allegedly targeted the Iglesia Bautista El Mesias Baptist Church, located at 97-44 75th St. in Ozone Park, just before midnight on July 8, according to authorities. The vandal threw one of the firebombs at the front door, but it bounced off and exploded on the ground, causing a fire that did no damage to the church, police said.
Sayrange walked about a half mile north into Woodhaven, where he allegedly threw another Molotov cocktail at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses at 92-04 78th Ave. that struck the front door landing of the building, police said. He was apprehended shortly afterward, and he was found to be in possession of two unlit Molotov cocktails. The FDNY extinguished both fires. There were no injuries, police said.
The suspect struck again about a half mile north, allegedly throwing another Molotov cocktail at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Woodhaven. The suspect was taken into custody shortly afterward by police from the 102nd Precinct in Richmond Hill. Photo via Google Maps
Further investigation determined that Sayrange targeted a third building, an Access-A-Ride location at 76-19 Rockaway Blvd., just before midnight on Wednesday, hurling a Molotov cocktail at the side of the building, which was closed at the time. There was no significant damage to the building, and no injuries were reported. Charges are pending against the vandal, who has not been identified. The investigation remains ongoing.
Ozone Park Residents Block Association Board President Sam Esposito condemned the latest “hate-filled attacks” on religious institutions.
“We are outraged and deeply disturbed by the most recent hate-filled attacks targeting religious institutions within our communities of Ozone Park and Woodhaven. These acts are not only offensive, but they are also dangerous, divisive, and an attack on the very fabric of our diverse neighborhoods,” Esposito said in a statement. “It is both troubling and unacceptable that hate appears to be becoming normalized, as if we are now simply waiting for the next incident rather than actively preventing it. This cannot and will not be accepted as the standard in our community.”
After he was booked at the 102nd Precinct on Thursday, Sayrange was transferred into federal custody and charged in connection to a firebombing at a Fulton Street smoke shop in Brooklyn on June 25. In his first appearance in Brooklyn federal court, prosecutors said Sayrange admitted to the attack, telling investigators, “Yes, I f**ing firebombed them, they’re Muslims, scum and terrorists. He allegedly threatened to cut off the head of the Brooklyn shop keeper.
Although Sayrange has not yet been charged by the feds, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashlyn Miranda linked him to the firebombing in Queens, where he was seen on video surveillance talking to three men outside the Ozone Park church asking, “Do you want this institution to be turned into a mosque?” He then threw the Molotov cocktail at the house of worship.
Sayrange was ordered detained without bail following his appearance Thursday before a U.S. Magistrate Judge Lara K. Eshkenazi in Brooklyn federal court.
An NYPD detective assigned to an ATF task force said they used facial recognition to link Sayrange to the fire bombings in Queens and another attack on a smoke shop in Brooklyn. Photos courtesy of the EDNY
The Cityline Ozone Park Civilian Patrol said these were not simply random attacks, but acts of hate directed at Muslim New Yorkers, which they condemned in the strongest possible terms.
“As a Muslim and as Executive Director of COPCP, I know the fear these attacks were meant to create,” Mohammad Khan said. “I remember when uncles in our community were assaulted walking to prayer, when brothers were robbed coming home from work; that is why COPCP was founded. We were born out of the belief that our community has a duty to stand up for one another and never allow fear to take over our streets.”
While no one was injured during the arson attacks, innocent lives were put at risk and fear spread across entire communities. COPCP added that investigators believe that Sayrange was linked to an earlier incident at Boithok Khana Restaurant on Liberty Avenue and several other incidents in the confines of the 75th Precinct in Brooklyn.
“These attacks hit deeply because they struck at the same fear our organization was created to answer,” Khan said. “A Bengali restaurant was targeted. Houses of worship were targeted. Other locations in our community were targeted. But we will not be intimidated. These attacks were meant to spread fear, but they will only strengthen our unity.”
COPCP commended the officers of the 102nd Precinct for apprehending Sayrange, as well as the civilians who assisted the police in identifying him and called on all appropriate prosecutors to pursue every charge supported by the evidence stating that hate driven violence must be met with accountability.
“In times like these, Islamophobic rhetoric is dangerous. It spreads fear, hardens hearts, and creates the climate where hate can grow,” COPCP Communications Director Daniel Hill said. “When that rhetoric turns into violence against restaurants, houses of worship, businesses and public spaces in our neighborhoods, every decent person has a duty to call it out. We must reject Islamophobia and hate in all forms, and not allow anyone to divide this community.
He added that Islamophobia has no place in Ozone Park, Cityline, Woodhaven, Brooklyn, Queens or anywhere in New York City.
“Catholics in our organization patrol mosques on Eid, and Muslims in our organization patrol churches on Christmas Eve,” Hill continued. “That is who we are. We stand up for each other, not because we are all the same, but because we are one community.”