Kelowna RCMP are looking to identify a suspect in an act of arson committed in late June possibly related to BC Housing’s McCurdy Road supportive housing project.
In the early morning hours of June 24, Kelowna RCMP and the Kelowna Fire Department responded to a report of a vehicle fire along Pearson Road. Police and fire crews arrived on scene to find a red Mini Cooper fully engulfed in flames.
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CCTV video shows an individual clearly lighting an object on fire and throwing it into the vehicle. The suspect flees on foot, but it doesn’t take long for the blaze to grow and spread through the interior of the passenger vehicle.
“Someone in the community must recognize our arson suspect,” said Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey, spokesman for the Kelowna RCMP.
“The suspect, who may be recognizable to someone due to his clothing or stature, seems to carry himself in a unique and distinctive manner as he jogs away from the scene.”
RCMP said the suspect is around 6 feet tall, heavier set, was seen wearing a light coloured hoodie with the hood up, light coloured pants and a pair of dark running shoes at the time of the incident.
Following the incident, the owner of the Mini Cooper, who wishes to remain anonymous, said she believes this could very well be a targeted attack as her husband had been vocal about putting a stop to the McCurdy Road supportive housing project, which was at the time designated to be a wet facility.
“We don’t know for a fact if it’s someone who has to do with the wet house,” she said.
“(Kelowna-Lake Country) MLA Norm Letnick’s office was vandalized—all of the windows were broken—and another guy that was vocal against McCurdy had his gas tank punctured.”
Kelowna RCMP encourage anybody with additional information to contact them at 250-762-3300 or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or crimestoppers.net.
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