NYPD: Suspect in firebomb attacks charged with hate crime

(AP) - A man who confessed to a string of New Year's Day arson attacks at an Islamic cultural center and four other sites where he had personal grievances has been arrested on a hate crime charge, NYPD officials say. Ray Lazier Lengend, a 40-year-old man of Guyanese descent, hurled crude firebombs at the Islamic center in part because he wasn't allowed to use its bathrooms, a law enforcement official said. He was tracked through a stolen car with Virginia license plates believed to be at the scene of at least two of the attacks Sunday evening on a convenience store, three homes and the cultural center, police said. He was arrested Tuesday on charges including one count of arson as a hate crime, four counts of arson and five counts of criminal possession of a weapon, they said Lengend, who lives in Queens, was taken to a hospital for a psychiatric examination Tuesday night. He remained in custody and couldn't be reached for comment. There was no information on whether he had a lawyer. Police spokesman Paul Browne said Lengend made statements implicating himself in the attacks and had personal grievances with each targeted location. Crude firebombs were tossed at the convenience store, two homes in Queens, a home in nearby Elmont and the Islamic center.

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