The side yard of a home in Southcrest was struck by what appeared to be a soft drink can full of a flammable liquid. NBC 7’s Dave Summers reports on Dec. 2, 2024.
Two families in San Diego's Southcrest neighborhood say they were targeted by someone throwing homemade firebombs.
It happened just before 2 a.m. on Monday near the corner of Una and Birch streets.
Hours after his home was reportedly attacked with a Molotov cocktail, a little boy was enjoying a brief bounce on the trampoline just feet from where the improvised incendiary device landed.
“I’m in shock right now,” parent Devany Andrade said.
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Andrade was startled awake Monday morning when she heard what sounded like an explosion and saw fire burning in the side yard.
“I just seen fire, and I got scared. I woke my husband up and told him to put the fire down,“ Andrade said.
The couple has two children and a roommate, the single mother of one daughter. All the kids are under the age of 7. The side yard was struck by what appeared to be a soft drink can full of a flammable liquid.
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“It was a Monster can with gasoline and a like a piece of cloth,” Andrade said.
The roommate, who did not want to be identified, says the device was thrown from the street and that had it not been for the canopy that knocked it down, it could have gone straight through a window and into her bedroom.
The canopy burned. There was another fire in the alley nearby, which is where Andrade believes the Molotov cocktail was lit. Police managed to put out the fires with just an extinguisher.
While police have not yet identified a suspect, Andrade's roommate translated a threatening text from an ex-boyfriend she received while NBC 7 was there. She says he has been harassing her since their August breakup.
“You don’t get tired of being such a (expletive)," the roommate said, translating the message. "Just like you don’t give a (expletive). I will see you later.”
With three small children and nowhere else to go, the parents feel stuck and vulnerable to another potential attack.
“I don’t know. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know if I have to get out of here. He said he is coming back," Andrade said.
NBC 7 reached out to investigating officers about the incident but did not hear back before this story was published.
