The man accused of firing dozens of bullets into the Cuban embassy in D.C. was indicted by a federal grand jury Wednesday.
Alexander Alazo, 42, of Middletown, Pennsylvania, and Aubrey, Texas, was arrested in April.
He’s charged with “a violent attack on a foreign official or official premises using a deadly weapon, willfully injuring or damaging property belonging to or occupied by a foreign government in the United Statesand interstate transportation of a firearm and ammunition with intent to commit a felony.”
Alazo faces 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
According to the complaint, he fired approximately 32 rounds from an assault-style weapon at the embassy.
“We commend the efforts of local and federal law enforcement who intervened quickly to protect lives and reduce damage to the property of a foreign government present in the United States,” U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin said in a statement.
“This investigation and prosecution is a testament to the commitment of American law enforcement to thwart the efforts of any individual who would target with violence any foreign embassy in the United States.”
Embassy surveillance video of the incident released by the Cuban government showed the alleged assailant arriving by car at around 2 a.m. April 30 and opening fire through a fence with an automatic weapon.
The video shows white plumes of smoke in the dark night air as a fusillade of bullets hit the front of the embassy, breaking a window and piercing a metal statue of Cuban revolutionary hero Jose Martí. Nobody was injured, although 10 Cuban diplomats and staff were inside and bullets entered the building.
Police said they recovered an AK-47 and 32 spent shells from the scene, according to court documents. A gasoline-soaked Cuban flag was recovered from the scene with handwritten messages including “Trump 2020,” according to the documents.
In the documents, police say Alazo told them that he had been hearing voices and attacked the embassy “because he wanted to get them before they got him, referring to the Cuban government.”
Alazo told investigators he was afraid Cuban “criminal organizations” might be tracking him and had been living out of his car for nine months before the embassy attack.
CNN contributed to this report.
