New York Burns: Nine NYPD Vehicles Torched in Brooklyn

In the early hours of this morning (Thursday) a brazen act of arson sent shockwaves through Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood when nine New York Police Department (NYPD) vehicles, seven marked and two unmarked, were set ablaze in a fenced-in parking lot near the 83rd Precinct. The incident, described by authorities as a deliberate attack, involved incendiary devices and left a trail of charred wreckage, with surveillance footage capturing two masked suspects fleeing the scene.

The Incident: A Fiery Assault on NYPD Property

At approximately 1:30 AM on June 12, 2025, NYPD officers responded to reports of multiple vehicle fires at the department’s parking lot at Central and DeKalb Avenues, adjacent to the 83rd Precinct stationhouse in Bushwick.

Firefighters from the FDNY quickly extinguished the flames, but not before nine vehicles, strategic response cars, police vans, and two unmarked units, sustained significant damage. Some vehicles had shattered windows, and a strong smell of gasoline lingered at the scene, according to WABC reports. No injuries were reported, but the financial and operational impact on the NYPD is substantial, with each vehicle costing tens of thousands of dollars.

Sources with direct knowledge of the investigation told NBC New York that incendiary devices, possibly Molotov cocktails, were found around the vehicles, with some placed on wheel hubs. Surveillance video recovered by police showed two men, dressed in all black and wearing masks, fleeing the lot.

The NYPD has launched a manhunt for the suspects, but no arrests have been made. “It’s very unsettling,” a local resident told WABC. “No one wants to be living on a street that has arson happening on it.”

The arson attack followed a tumultuous night in Lower Manhattan, where approximately 2,500 anti-ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) protesters clashed with NYPD officers on June 11, 2025. The demonstration, sparked by the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement policies, saw a smaller group of several hundred turn violent, leading to multiple arrests.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch told Fox 5 NY, “The vast majority of the 2,500 people were there to protest peacefully, but a smaller group was looking for trouble.” The timing of the Bushwick fires, mere hours after the clashes, has led some, including Fox News, to speculate a connection, though authorities have not officially linked the two events.

While the NYPD and media outlets like CBS New York and NBC New York have labeled the incident arson, several questions remain unanswered. Why was a fenced-in police lot so easily breached? How did the suspects evade immediate capture despite surveillance cameras? And is there a concrete link to the anti-ICE protests, or is the timing coincidental? The truth likely lies in a complex interplay of local grievances, political rhetoric, and opportunistic crime.

As the NYPD hunts for the two masked suspects, the incident has already left its mark, both in the charred remains of police property and in the heated debates on X. Whether tied to anti-ICE protests or a standalone act, the arson reflects a broader malaise, where distrust, division, and desperation converge.

For Brooklyn residents waking to the smell of smoke, and for a nation watching the footage, the question looms: How much worse will things get before they get better?