A San Jose neighborhood is on edge Monday after someone was spotted throwing what was described as a Molotov cocktail at a home with people inside and it was all caught on home security cameras.
Footage shows the arson device being thrown and exploding in the East San Fernando area of the city where homeowners have reported numerous “deliberately set” fires in the past few weeks.
A neighbor said he saw a man on a bicycle holding the flaming device and when he startled the bicyclist, it made him throw the lit bottle in a hurry, hitting the fence instead of clearing it.
“It happened so fast,” said Anthony. “It seemed like an explosion because it lit up big time and it was very scary.”
The tenant inside confirmed the device looked like a Molotov cocktail but said she thought the attack was random because of other arson incidents in the neighborhood.
The neighborhood association confirmed it has reported numerous other arson acts but said a Molotov cocktail is a significant escalation.
“It’s frightening because it’s more than just randomly tossing out a cigarette,” said Jeff Levine, Roosevelt Park Neighborhood Association board member. “It shows conscious thought and planning on my part to burn a house down or send a message or something.”
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Within an hour of that firebombing, another family several blocks away called the fire department after they said someone set fire to dry brush at a creek next to their house.
“It has been ongoing and an increasingly worse problem,” said neighbor Suzanne.
The San Jose Fire Department said its Arson Unit is actively investigating the attack and wants anyone with information or more video to come forward.
