(Montreal) A business was set on fire Saturday morning in Montreal, the latest in a series of arson attacks targeting stores in the metropolis.
The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) was called around 5:40 a.m. for a broken window.
When the police arrived on the scene, the firefighters were already bringing the flames under control.
“A commercial window was reportedly smashed and an incendiary object was thrown inside,” explained Caroline Chèvrefils, spokesperson for the SPVM. On the other hand, “no incendiary object would have been found on the spot”.
No one was in the business at the time of the incident and the physical damage remains “minor”, she said.
The investigation is continuing.
Thursday morning, an establishment located on boulevard Langelier, in the borough of Saint-Léonard, was also the victim of an arson attack, for the second time in 24 hours.
During the night of Monday to Tuesday, about thirty cars were destroyed by fire during two arson attacks in Lachine.
SPVM director Fady Dagher said at a press conference on Monday that the police are investigating a series of arson attacks targeting Lebanese cafes, whose owners allegedly refused to submit to extortion attempts.
Project Wick, launched in March, is a collaboration of police departments in Montreal, Laval and North Crown to investigate the wave of arson related to extortion schemes and criminal assaults.
The SPVM claims to have noted an increase in arson this year, with 193 cases and 30 arrests between January and April, compared to 120 cases and 20 arrests during the same period a year ago.