A suspect was taken into custody after allegedly throwing Molotov cocktails at two churches and an ambulette service in Queens during the early hours of Thursday.
The individual, identified as 36‑year‑old Yogesh Sayrange, is an undocumented immigrant with pending criminal cases involving armed threats and a prior firebombing, and investigators have linked him to at least seven other arson investigations.
Surveillance footage captured Sayrange speaking with three men outside the Iglesia Bautista El Mesias Baptist Church in Ozone Park shortly before midnight, then lighting a Molotov cocktail and hurling it over the front gate toward the entrance.
Less than a mile away, he approached a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses and, at 12:08 a.m., threw a second Molotov cocktail at its front entrance before targeting the Exclusive Ambulette Service Transportation Corp. with a third device.
Police apprehended Sayrange at a nearby deli at approximately 12:10 a.m., recovering two additional Molotov cocktails from his backpack. He reportedly told investigators he had “two more in my bag” and intended to continue the attacks.
Federal authorities had previously identified Sayrange in connection with a June 25 firebombing of a smoke shop on Fulton Street in Brooklyn. The device described in the complaint was a green glass bottle wrapped with screws, containing hair, rocks, an ignitable liquid, and other materials, and was delivered while the suspect wore a Guy Fawkes mask.
Facial recognition software matched Sayrange to a photograph taken during an unrelated arrest on June 16, and prosecutors allege his involvement in at least seven additional arson incidents over the preceding two weeks. Near the Kingdom Hall, he is alleged to have asked a group of men whether they wanted the institution “turned into a mosque.”
State prosecutors are pursuing two separate cases against Sayrange: one in Manhattan alleging he threatened an individual with a metal‑knuckle knife on June 12, and another in Queens accusing him of brandishing an axe and threatening to decapitate a man on June 16.
A magistrate ordered Sayrange held without bail. While federal officials describe him as a Guyanese citizen residing in the United States illegally, the suspect claims to have an active DACA renewal application.
Detectives are also examining a possible link between Sayrange and a recent spate of thefts involving religious statues in the surrounding neighborhoods.
City officials have faced criticism for policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement and reduce traditional police involvement in mental‑health and homelessness calls. The mayor’s administration has proposed a civilian‑led Department of Community Safety to handle such incidents, shifting responsibilities away from the NYPD.
Since January, the city’s refusal to honor ICE detainers has been cited as a factor in the release of more than 7,000 undocumented individuals with criminal charges, including homicide, assault, burglary, robbery, drug offenses, weapons violations, and sexual predatory offenses.
Federal officials have warned that the city’s approach jeopardizes public safety, naming several individuals whose deportation was delayed, including persons convicted of sexual assault, rape, kidnapping, child sex offenses, homicide, and gang‑related assault.
One highlighted case involves a Honduran national who had been deported four times, faced fifteen prior charges, and was arrested for attempted murder after allegedly pushing an 83‑year‑old veteran onto subway tracks.
The administration’s public‑safety reforms, including the cancellation of a planned 580‑officer NYPD expansion and the reallocation of budget resources, have sparked debate among law‑enforcement unions and policy advocates regarding the balance between community outreach and traditional policing.
