Man arrested after firebombing
A man injured himself while firebombing a business on St‑Zotique early Monday. It’s a small tailor’s business with an apartment upstairs and looks like it’s been pretty definitively destroyed. The suspect is in hospital.
jeather 09:39 on 2022-08-22 Permalink
Actual example of hoist on his own petard.
DeWolf 10:35 on 2022-08-22 Permalink
I live just around the corner from this, maybe 25 metres away, and was woken up by the sound of people shouting and glass breaking. I thought it was some kind of fight, which is pretty unusual for the area, so I got up to look out the window, and by then firefighters had arrived police were urgently knocking on the doors of adjacent buildings. I could see the flames reflected in the windows of the restaurant across the street and the fire looked intense. By then the smoke was so thick I had to close all the windows. I’m pretty sure some of my neighbours’ smoke detectors started going off.
I just took a look at the damage now. Arson investigators are still combing through the scene and it’s a total loss for the tailor shop and the upstairs apartment, but the fire seemed remarkably well contained. The dentist’s clinic next door is completely unscathed.
DeWolf 10:53 on 2022-08-22 Permalink
I just noticed that La Presse interviewed the dentist in their story about the fire. Apparently he and the other shopowners have been the victim of targeted harassment over the past two months — threatening notes, paint splashed on the building — and he’s not surprised they were firebombed. The only unanswered question is why.
Check out the note in the photo. It’s very strange.
https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/justice-et-faits-divers/2022-08-22/incendie-criminel-a-montreal/le-suspect-trouve-blesse-puis-arrete-sur-place.php
Kate 11:06 on 2022-08-22 Permalink
DeWolf, that is odd. The owner of the building is not Giovanni Di Tullio, at least according to the online tax roll.
walkerp 12:36 on 2022-08-22 Permalink
The note is odd, but how is this not anything but simple extortion?
M 14:02 on 2022-08-22 Permalink
I also live nearby where this happened. At 4 am I heard what sounded like fire works — and then within 20 minutes the intersection was filled with various first response vehicles.
I’m not sure if fireworks of some kind were also used in setting this duplex on fire, or whether that’s just the sound the building made as a result of catching fire
A neighbour of long standing in the area said he’d been noticing increase in arson in the area as landlords try to gain control of properties through means faster than the Tribunal can offer, even at its most submissive
In addition to the two shop keepers it appears at least 2 residential tenants had their homes destroyed
DeWolf 15:47 on 2022-08-22 Permalink
@M – the fireworks sound was from a hydro pole transformer exploding. There were some loud bangs followed by a cascade of sparks that fell onto the street. The power went out soon afterwards.
dhomas 16:48 on 2022-08-22 Permalink
That whole block of buildings is owned by the same owner/group. A friend of mine used to have a business in one of the units. Apparently, there is foundation damage to these buildings (or at least, that’s what the owner told him to get him to leave). I’m pretty sure the owners want to tear it down to build something new/taller.