A Fridley man accused of twice lobbing firebombs at a Minneapolis ice cream shop within a 15-hour span in October now faces federal offenses, according to charges unsealed on Thursday.
Firomsa Ahmed Umar, 30, is charged in U.S. District Court in the District of Minnesota with arson, attempted arson and two counts of possession of an unregistered destructive device in connection with the Oct. 19-20 attacks at Fletcher’s Ice Cream and Cafe. Umar made his initial appearance at the federal courthouse in St. Paul on Thursday and remains in custody pending a Nov. 25 hearing. Court records did not list an attorney for him.
The firebombs prompted the community to rally behind the northeast Minneapolis ice cream shop after the small business suffered damage and suspicion grew that the cafe was targeted because of its display of a large Pride flag above its entrance. No injuries were reported.
Similar to his state charges, Umar’s federal complaint does not draw an explicit conclusion to his motive but refers to the Pride flag when outlining the case.
Umar was arrested hours after the second attack on Oct. 20. Police responded to the business in the 300 block of Hennepin Avenue after receiving reports about a man seen throwing a Molotov cocktail at a window at Fletcher’s.
The witnesses relayed the license plate number of the firebomber, later identified as Umar, and recalled the man drove a light blue minivan with a white sticker on the rear windshield. The man wore a blue, full-length garment later determined to be a traditional robe, the complaint said.
Minneapolis officers found a van matching the witnesses’ description just over a mile from Fletcher’s and made a traffic stop. Umar, who was driving, was wearing a blue robe and had a gas can inside the vehicle, according to the federal complaint.
The complaint alleges surveillance footage from the attack at Fletcher’s the night before led investigators to identify Umar as the suspect in the Oct. 19 attack, which they said was intended to cause a fire within the business. Then, the complaint continues, “perhaps dissatisfied with the level of damage caused,” Umar returned on Oct. 20 to strike again.
