A Queens man who confessed to five firebombing attacks that took place on Sunday night was seeking revenge for what he perceived as personal slights, according to New York City police.
Four of the Molotov cocktail attacks took place in Queens, with two houses of worship among the targets. An additional attack occurred in Elmont.
Over the last few years, the list of grudges grew, each emanating from a perceived slight. There was the time he was not allowed to use a bathroom. And the time he was apparently dissatisfied after buying crack cocaine.
A more recent indignity came just after Christmas, when, he told police detectives, he was treated rudely and roughly after being caught shoplifting at a deli in Queens.
On Sunday, the authorities said, the man decided to settle his scores.
Police officials said the man, who was taken into custody on Tuesday morning and identified later as Ray Lazier Lengend, 40, of 89-04 215th Street in Queens, admitted to having committed five firebomb attacks in Queens and on Long Island in a two-hour swirl of violence on New Year’s Day.
He faces five counts of criminal possession of a weapon, one count of arson as a hate crime and four counts of arson.
