DC Rocked by Targeted Explosions, Police Scrambling to Find the Bomber

Police Monday were still hunting for a suspect who damaged three Washington, D.C., businesses early Sunday in a string of bombings.

The Metropolitan Police Department said it and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are seeking to identify a suspect and vehicle seen outside one of the damaged businesses.

Police released a surveillance camera image of a gold or champagne-color Acura TL with Maryland plate 17971CK, according to WUSA. A surveillance image showed an individual in a light-colored hoodie at the scene of the blasts.

?Washington explosion — A DC Nike store, Safeway and ATM were targeted with explosives. Now the hunt is on to catch a hooded suspect ?https://t.co/XmOuKt3g1F

— The Independent (@Independent) July 3, 2023

The police release said the first attack took place at about 4:30 a.m. on Sunday when an explosive device damaged an ATM at the Truist Bank on Washington Place in the Northeast part of D.C. Police said the suspect fled the scene after the blast.

Six minutes later, according to police, the same suspect blew up a bomb on the sidewalk by the Nike Store on H Street, Northeast. The suspect again fled after the blast.

The third blast took place at 4:45 a.m.

Washington DC explosions – Suspect on the run after attacks on three businesseshttps://t.co/SOoisCnOQ6

— The Independent (@Independent) July 3, 2023

Police said “the suspect threw a Molotov cocktail style object at the Safeway store located in the 300 block of 40th Street, Northeast then fled the scene in a vehicle.”

“In each of these offenses, it appears the suspect targeted commercial establishments and it does not appear the suspect was targeting any members of the public,” the statement said, noting that the businesses were closed and no injuries were reported.

The release said that the MPD was offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect. The release said ATF was doing the same, meaning the total reward for a tip that pays off is $20,000.

A man who lives over the bank said the blast shook him awake.

“It shook my living room. It knocked all of my security cameras off the wall. It knocked my pictures off the wall. It pretty much rattled me,” the resident said, according to WRC-TV.

“It’s frightening, right? I don’t know what it is, if it’s a firework or something like that, but it’s definitely concerning,” Nike store customer Nour Hasan said.

“I am very much appalled by the incidents. I find it unsettling,” Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6C Commissioner Patricia Eguino said.

Through May, violent crime in Washington D.C. is up 10 percent over last year, including a 15 percent increase in homicides, according to Fox Business.