3 charged in Molotov cocktail attack on occupied van in Cranston

CRANSTON — Two young women and a teenage boy threw a Molotov cocktail at a parked van that had people inside, according to the police.

The April 27 attack was preceded by a dispute over the telephone between the 17-year-old boy and a person in the van, Cranston police Chief Michael Winquist said when announcing arrests in the case.

The three conspirators worked together to toss a flaming glass bottle, fueled with gasoline, from a moving vehicle at 1:43 a.m., Winquist said.

"Fortunately, nobody was injured," said Winquist, who told The Journal on Saturday that some might be shocked by the violence of the assault and attempted arson on Greenwood Street, captured on video by a private surveillance system.

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After the arson attempt, the van's driver followed the assailants' vehicle and then stopped its pursuit near Doric Avenue, Winquist said.

Investigators from Cranston's police and fire departments and the state fire marshal's office worked jointly on the probe and tracked down the suspects' vehicle.

License-plate reading technology aided the investigators, who found materials in the vehicle that matched up with evidence from the incendiary device at the scene, Winquist said.

Each of the three suspects, 20-year-old Brianna Wischnowsky, of Warwick; 19-year-old Drew Rappoport, of Coventry; and the juvenile, were charged with fifth-degree arson, conspiracy, and three counts of felony assault with a dangerous weapon or substance, police said.

Wischnowsky and Rappoport were released Wednesday on personal recognizance following an appearance before Judge Christopher K. Smith in District Court, Warwick. Smith issued a no-contact order.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: 3 charged in Molotov cocktail attack on occupied van in Cranston