Man charged with deliberately crashing into Philadelphia police building

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The suspect who police say deliberately drove through the Philadelphia 2nd Police District building Tuesday is being held on $1.7 million bail.

Dieufort Joly is facing 22 charges for the crash that injured five people, including six first-degree felonies for aggravated assault. Joly’s Haitian passport was taken into evidence upon his arrest. Police did not recover any weapons from his vehicle. A preliminary hearing is set for May 11.

The crash happened around 1:40 p.m. Tuesday, in the 7300 block of Castor Avenue in the city’s Rhawnhurst neighborhood. Officers responded to a domestic disturbance earlier that day at around 11:45 a.m. involving the suspect and his father.

“There was mention of there being a dispute in relation to the sale of a car, and there was mention of [a] possible return to Haiti,” Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said during a press conference Wednesday.

Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel called the incident “an absolute deliberate act.” He added that the Philadelphia Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating whether or not the incident could be considered a domestic terrorist act.

Krasner said once they have a “clear understanding of the motive” behind the crash, then it’s possible the criminal charges could change.

“We remain open to other possible charges, but make no mistake, the maximum sentence for attempted murder is 10 to 20 years,” Krasner said. “The maximum sentence for aggravated assault, which is what we charged as a first-degree felony, is also 10 to 20 years … These are very serious charges.”

Six people were inside the lobby when the crash occurred. None of them suffered serious injuries. All of the victims were transported to a hospital to be treated.