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A man has been arrested after police said he placed incendiary devices near a local fire station in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.
Slater Chaia of District Heights, Maryland, has been charged with possession of a destructive device and possession of incendiary material with intent to create a destructive device, both felonies, stemming from incidents of littering Capitol Heights Fire Station 805 with what a criminal complaint called “makeshift Molotov cocktails.” He also faces a reckless endangerment charge.
Surveillance video shows him walking up to the fire station’s property with two plastic bottles, and putting both on the ground next to a flagpole. He then moves one of the bottles to the pavement a few feet away from the mailbox, according to the video. He then allegedly retreats back to the flagpole, grabs the second bottle and walks to the mailbox and places it inside.
Slater Chaia is accused of placing a makeshift incendiary device in the mailbox at Capitol Heights Fire Station 805 on Aug. 13, 2025. (Prince George’s Police Department)
According to NBC 4 Washington, police believe that the fire station was specifically targeted, but they do not know why.
“God forbid one of our young people get ahold of one of these devices and become harmed,” Prince George’s County Bureau of Homeland Security Deputy Chief James McCreary said.
McCreary said that the first devices were ineffective, but they were becoming more dangerous.
A Prince George’s County police cruiser is seen on Monday, April 15, 2019. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
“The initial devices were inert, but, again, they seem to be progressing,” McCreary said. “The last device we had at this location could have been something, potentially, that would have harmed someone if it was able to be activated.”
Chaia is being held without bond.
The ATF is also looking into the matter.