Man arrested after throwing Molotov Cocktail at Summerville PD cars

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCBD) – A man accused of throwing a Molotov Cocktail at Summerville Police Department (SPD) cars and “firebombing” a homeless camp was arrested Tuesday.

According SPD, officers were at 805 Bacons Bridge Road around 11:15 p.m. Tuesday when a man threw a Molotov Cocktail at their cars and fled.

The fire was extinguished and no one was injured.

Roughly an hour later, officers were called to a fire in a wooded area near 320 Trolley Road. A witness told them that the same person who threw the Molotov Cocktail at their cars also “firebombed [a] homeless camp in the woods.”

The suspect was identified as Sherman Smith Jr. (28). Smith was known to law enforcement from previous encounters.

SPD asked Dorchester County Sheriff’s Department (DCSO) deputies to meet with Smith at his residence. Smith tried to flee through the back door, but was taken into custody “after a brief struggle.”

Officers found a backpack with an unexploded Molotov Cocktail near Smith’s bike.

Smith is being charged with three counts of attempted murder, arson in the third degree, and possession of an article designed to cause fire.

Editor’s note: This story is breaking and will be updated.