Two teenagers from Langford have been charged with arson in relation to the Savory elementary fire last week.
West Shore RCMP major crimes investigators arrested a 16-year-old male the morning of Sept. 14. He was released and placed on a curfew.
The second suspect, Jordan Deluca, 19, turned himself in at the Western Communities Courthouse on Monday morning after a warrant was issued for his arrest last week.
Cpl. Kathy Rochlitz said the suspects were tracked down in part due to information passed on by the community.
“The West Shore RCMP wishes to thank all those concerned citizens who came forward and provided information, allowing us to further our investigation,” Rochlitz said. “We’re happy. It brings a level of closure to all those displaced by the fire.”
Sooke School District superintendent Jim Cambridge said the quick arrest points to the close co-operation between the district, the Langford fire department and the RCMP.
“It really shows when there are crimes like these, whoever does it gets caught,” Cambridge said.
Rochlitz couldn’t say if the young men had attended Savory in the past or speak to possible motivations behind allegedly setting the fire.
The fire, called in Sept. 11 at 5:45 a.m., burned through an administrative wing of the 45-year-old elementary school in Langford. A security alarm had been triggered at the school two hours earlier.
The fire caused less than $50,000 in damage, but the school will likely be closed for the rest of the month.
About 175 students from Kindergarten to Grade 6 have been relocated to temporary classrooms at nearby Crystal View and Happy Valley elementary schools while Savory is cleaned and repaired.
Savory elementary was last hit by arson in 1992.
The 16-year-old youth will appear in court on Sept. 28 at Western Communities Courthouse.
–with files from Sam Van Schie
