Ukrainian Canadian Congress calls on police to investigate Victoria arson attack as hate crime
The Ukrainian Canadian Congress says an arson attack on the home of a Ukrainian family in Victoria should be investigated as a hate crime.
The national advocacy group says Wednesday's fire at the home of a Ukrainian Catholic priest and his family may have been motivated by Father Yuriy Vyshnevskyy's support for Ukraine amid Russia's ongoing war in the country.
Vyshnevskyy, his wife and three daughters narrowly escaped their Caledonia Avenue home in the early hours of Wednesday morning after the pastor says someone poured gasoline through the mail slot into the front room and set it on fire.
The pastor's eldest daughter, 11, sustained injuries from broken glass after she and her sisters fled the fire by leaping from an upstairs window into their father's arms.
"It was hell," Vyshnevskyy told CTV News. "It was hell because I knew that it was the only window out. It was the only way out."
All five family members were treated for smoke inhalation. Their cat was found unresponsive but later resuscitated by firefighters.
Their home is on the property of the Ukrainian Catholic Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, where Vyshnevskyy is the pastor.
"We call on law enforcement to fully, promptly and thoroughly investigate this heinous crime against five innocent people," the Ukrainian congress, which represents the interests of approximately 1.4 million Ukrainian-Canadians, said in a statement.
"Given that Father Vyshnevskyy is a dedicated community leader who through his work is strongly supporting the Ukrainian people and their defence of their homeland from Russia’s genocidal war, we call on local authorities to investigate this attack as a hate crime," the congress added.
'WHO COULD HAVE DONE THIS?'
Victoria police said Wednesday they are investigating whether the arson attack was hate motivated, but said it's too early in the investigation to determine a motive.
"There has been some questions surrounding this, given the structure's proximity to a Ukrainian Catholic church," Victoria police spokesperson Const. Cam MacIntyre said.
"Sometimes there is simply an arsonist that is in the community," he added. "Other times these incidents are targeted. It's too early in the investigation for us to say."
Vyshnevskyy said Thursday he still doesn't know who could have set fire to his home with his family inside, or why.
"I thought about this many times," the pastor said. "Who could have done this and what reasons? Still I don’t have the answer. I don’t know."
Investigators are asking anyone who has surveillance video from the area on the night of the attack to contact police immediately.
"Our goal in this is to locate a suspect, or suspects, and arrest them," MacIntyre said. "We have some information but we need more."
An online fundraiser for the family had raised more than $15,000 by Thursday morning.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
A newspaper says video of Prince William and Kate should halt royal rumour mill. That's a tall order
Prince William and his wife Catherine have been filmed at a farm shop near their Windsor home, The Sun newspaper reported -- the first footage of Kate since she had abdominal surgery for an unspecified condition two months ago.
'You ask for your money, they disappear': Ontario man loses $17K to AI crypto scam
A Toronto man is spreading the word of a cryptocurrency scam that lures victims using AI-generated news sites after he lost $17,000 in investments.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
High thoughts: The habits of Canadian cannabis users are revealed in a new StatCan report
Statistics Canada has conducted a series of surveys to measure the impacts of legalized cannabis since the Cannabis Act took effect in 2018. The latest one, the 2023 National Cannabis Survey, sheds light on users' preferences and habits last year.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
Trump says Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and their religion
Former U.S. president Donald Trump on Monday charged that Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and hate 'their religion,' igniting a firestorm of criticism from the White House and Jewish leaders.
Toronto family doctor who called patient's body 'perfect' suspended for 3 months: tribunal
A family doctor in Toronto has been suspended for three months after a disciplinary tribunal found that he failed to follow proper protocols while examining a patient's breasts and made inappropriate comments about her body.
Freddie Mercury's home is on the market for first time since 1980 minus his 'exquisite clutter'
Freddie Mercury's sanctuary in London, where he lived the last decade of his life, is on sale for the first time in nearly half a century -- minus his "exquisite clutter."
'The lost season': Winter comes to a close as Canada's warmest on record
The warmest winter on record could have far-reaching effects on everything from wildfire season to erosion, climatologists say, while offering a preview of what the season could resemble in the not-so-distant future unless steps are taken to cut greenhouse gas emissions.