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TRIPwire, 5 May 2023 On 28 April 2023, at approximately 0245 hours local time, Clovis Police Department and fire crews responded after a suspect lit multiple improvised incendiary devices (IIDs), described as Molotov cocktails, to set a recreational vehicle (RV) on fire that was parked on the side yard of a Clovis residence. The fire spread to two homes and caused an unknown amount of damage. No further device details were released, and no injuries were reported. The 47-year-old male suspect was arrested on 3 May 2023 and is facing multiple charges related to the incident.

TRIPwire, 5 May 2023 On 4 May 2023, local police and fire crews responded to the Gratosoglio district in Milan after unknown suspects threw improvised incendiary devices (IIDs), described as Molotov cocktails, at an abandoned shed in a former industrial complex, starting a fire. Fire crews extinguished the blaze. At the scene, police found and removed an intact IID for further analysis. The incident remains under investigation.

TRIPwire, 4 May 2023 On 2 May 2023, media reporting indicated that at approximately 0330 hours local time in the week of 24 April 2023, Des Moines Police Department officers responded to the 2400 block of SE 7th Street after two people lit what appeared to be improvised incendiary devices (IIDs), described as Molotov cocktails, and threw them into a vehicle, setting it ablaze, and then fled the scene on foot. No further device details have been released. The car sustained extensive damage, but no injuries have been reported. The investigation is ongoing.

TRIPwire, 3 May 2023 On 2 May 2023, at approximately 0000 hours local time, Desert Hot Springs Police Department officers responded to a residence on Ocotillo Road after receiving a disturbance call involving a firearm. The suspect barricaded himself inside the residence until he was arrested. When officers searched his home, they found an IED. The Riverside County’s Bomb Squad responded and removed the device. No further device details have been released. The suspect was arrested on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a destructive device, suspicion of attempted murder, and assault with a firearm.

TRIPwire, 3 May 2023 On 2 May 2023, a Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) affidavit indicated that on 13 April 2023, starting at approximately 1427 hours local time, an HUPD dispatcher received six calls from a male who identified himself and threatened to detonate three radio-controlled IEDs (RCIEDs) emplaced on campus if his demand for a Bitcoins transaction was not met. The caller described the RCIEDs as each having “an explosive yield of at least 80 megajoules and containing several pounds of metal shrapnel,” and indicated that one RCIED was emplaced at the Science Center Plaza between two food trucks in a red and black tool bag. At approximately 1540 hours, an HUPD officer located the tool bag, and evacuated the area and adjacent buildings. The Cambridge Police Department’s Bomb Disposal Unit responded to assist and rendered the device safe via controlled detonation using a robotic device. A post-blast analysis of the device revealed that the tool bag contained a hoax device with a metal locking safe, with pyrotechnics and a package of wire inside, and a small rectangular box with wires attached to it. A sticker on the wire package led authorities to a hardware store where surveillance camera footage from the store identified a 55-year-old male suspect picking up an online order placed by the same bomb threat caller. A livestream camera footage from the Science Center Plaza showed the suspect at approximately 1410 hours placing the tool bag on the plaza. According to the affidavit, on 11 April 2023, the suspect responded to an online ad offering $300 to pick up and deliver items to a student at Harvard University. On 2 May 2023, the suspect was arrested by FBI agents in Massachusetts and charged with conspiracy, along with aiding and abetting an extortionate threat. The incident remains under investigation.