FBI agents were investigating an apparent attempted firebombing at a federal building in Downtown Los Angeles, and its possible connection to an arson fire earlier in the day in Koreatown, several law enforcement sources told NBC4 Investigates.
LA City firefighters were dispatched to the federal building at 300 N. Los Angeles St. at 8:36 a.m. Monday after someone dropped or threw a molotov-cocktail-type device near the front of the building, but it did not ignite, authorities said.
A hazardous materials squad was dispatched to examine the contents of the liquid that was left behind, and there were no injuries, according to a call record.
The man who brought the item to the building, identified by authorities as Jose F. Jovel, 54, was booked into federal custody, according to federal jail records.
The US Attorney’s Office said a criminal complaint was expected to be filed Tuesday, and that Jovel is a US citizen.
Before the Los Angeles St. incident Monday firefighters responded to a fire inside an apartment in the 100 block of North Westmoreland Ave. in the Koreatown area around 4:00 a.m.
That fire was extinguished, and it’s now being investigated by local and federal agencies as a suspected arson, the sources said, as it is the apparent residence of the man arrested at the federal building.
The events were being investigated by the Joint Terrorism Task Force, they said.