Individuals allegedly set fire to a sport utility vehicle (SUV) parked in the Anjou district of Montreal on Monday afternoon. This is the fourth suspicious vehicle fire to occur in the city in as many days.
Officers from the Montreal City Police Service (SPVM) were called to intervene around 2 p.m. on rue Jarry near boulevard des Galeries d’Anjou.
Firefighters from the Montreal Fire Safety Service (SIM) were already on the scene when the police arrived.
The fire was quickly brought under control by rescuers, but the SUV was still declared a total loss.
According to witnesses, two suspects were seen near the vehicle before it caught fire. The individuals would have fled on foot, said Caroline Chèvrefils, public relations officer for the SPVM.
An incendiary object was also found by officers near the scene.
For the moment, the SPVM has not made any arrests. The investigation was transferred to the Arson Unit of the SPVM.
4 in 4 days
However, this is not the first event of this type to have taken place on the island of Montreal in recent days.
On Friday, two vehicles were engulfed in flames.
The first occurred at 2:30 a.m. in the parking lot of an apartment building in the Ville-Marie borough. No people were injured. However, the Toyota brand car was declared a total loss.
Erik Peters / Agence QMI
The circumstances have still not been determined, according to the SPVM, but the incident remains suspicious.
The second occurred a few hours later, around 7:30 a.m. A vehicle parked on 20th avenue in the Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension district was reportedly set on fire by an individual.
A suspect was reportedly seen near the vehicle before the fire was noticed, “which suggests arson,” explained the SPVM media relations officer.
And during the night from Friday to Saturday, around 3 a.m., another vehicle caught fire in the parking lot of a private residence in the Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie borough.
Pascal Girard/AGENCE QMI
The cause of the fire remains undetermined, but as in all other events, investigations have been transferred to the Arson Unit of the SPVM.
No arrests have been confirmed in these files.
