Miami Shores Police Chief Robert Masten was angered Wednesday after learning three police cruisers were set ablaze overnight by vandals who lobbed Molotov cocktails into the department's parking lot.
''Frankly, we're insulted,'' Masten told reporters.
The vandals struck at 3 a.m., armed with bottles of soda filled with gasoline and topped with a lit cloth. They tossed the bottles over a 10-foot chain-link fence into a parking lot behind the station at 9990 NE Second Ave.
Nobody was injured, but within minutes the 1999, 2001 and 2003 white cruisers with blue and black lettering parked next to each other were on fire. Two were gutted; a third was heavily scorched. Total damage: Up to $70,000.
The department owns 21 cruisers, said Capt. Kevin Lystad, a Miami Shores police spokesman. .
''One of our people called the fire department,'' Lystad said.
At first, the blaze was thought to be accidental, then firefighters saw remnants of the Molotov cocktails.
Miami-Dade police, whose arson unit has taken over the probe, would say only that the torching was done by ''incendiary devices.''
Neither county nor Miami Shores officials would discuss their investigation.
''We're compiling a detailed list of suspects,'' Lystad said.
Anyone with information on the vandalism is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.
Herald news partner WFOR-CBS4 contributed to this report.
Distributed by the Associated Press
