Man suspected of firebombing Dover immigration centre was 66-year-old from High Wycombe
The man suspected of firebombing the Border Force immigration centre in Dover on Sunday is a 66-year-old from the High Wycombe area, police have said.
The suspect was later found dead after petrol bombs were thrown at the centre.
Kent Police officers carried out a warrant at the suspect’s property in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire today.
Police said “two to three incendiary devices” were thrown at the centre by “a single suspect who arrived at the scene in a car”.
Emergency crews were called to the site in Kent shortly after 11.20am on Sunday after Reuters news agency – who had a photographer at the scene – reported that a man had thrown petrol bombs attached with fireworks at the centre.
The photographer captured the moment the man hurled the homemade bomb from the car window. The man was seen with a lighter in his hand as he threw the container towards the centre.
The agency reported that the man took his own life following the incident.
One witness named Brian Wood told Sky News he was about 200 metres away from the migrant centre and heard “three bangs” and saw smoke.
He added: “Then I heard the alarms going and people yelling and shouting.”
Kent Police said “two to three incendiary devices” were thrown at the centre by “a single suspect who arrived at the scene in a car”, with two people suffering minor injuries.
Officers then found a further device in the suspect’s vehicle, which was later confirmed safe.
It comes as almost 1,000 migrants arrived in the UK on Saturday, making the treacherous journey across the world’s busiest shipping lane and landing at Dover.
Long lines of people – believed to be migrants – could be seen waiting to be processed at the Border Force compound in Dover, Kent, as 990 arrived on British shores.
Nearly 40,000 have arrived in the UK so far this year after attempting the treacherous trip from France.
Earlier, Conservative backbencher Sir Roger Gale told Sky News overcrowding at the Manston immigration facility in Kent – where outbreaks of MRSA and diphtheria have been reported – is “wholly unacceptable”.