Suspect arrested as Victoria police investigate string of suspicious fires
Victoria police have arrested one person and are still investigating three suspicious fires that burned in the downtown core early Friday morning.
One fire occurred outside the Bay Centre at the corner of Broad Street and View Street, damaging some of the exterior of the building. Patrol officers were called to the scene at approximately 3:40 a.m. and doused the flames with fire extinguishers.
Police say one person was arrested a short time later and is being held in custody pending a court appearance.
Another fire burned in a garbage can in the 500-block of Yates Street around 3:55 a.m. Patrol officers responded to an alleyway where a resident was already working to extinguish the flames before firefighters arrived.
Both of the fires are being investigated as arsons, police said.
A small fire in the 1000-block of Balmoral Road, near Cook Street, was reported around 2 a.m. The fire was found in a hedge and quickly doused by firefighters without significant damage, police said.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation and police have yet to determine whether any of the fires are connected.
Investigators are asking anyone with video from these areas between 1:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. to save their footage and call the VicPD Report Desk at 250-995-7654.
Exactly one week earlier, on the evening of June 16, police were called to two suspicious fires in the James Bay area.
Both of those fires are being investigated as arson, including one fire that damaged and destroyed six parked vehicles, as well as a carport.
The damaged vehicles and carport are pictured on June 17, 2022. (CTV News)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
Poilievre unrepentant over calling Trudeau 'wacko' as his MPs say Speaker should resign
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh confirms his party will support the Liberals' federal budget
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says his party will support the federal budget, ending any speculation that the party could pull out of its deal with the minority Liberal government.
Dental care program accepting claims for 1 million seniors
Citizens' Services Minister Terry Beech says 1,200 seniors have already visited a dentist and had their claims processed by the federal government's new dental care plan.