Arson suspect sought after another suspicious church fire in B.C.'s Fraser Valley
Police are searching for an arson suspect after responding to another church fire in B.C.'s Fraser Valley on Wednesday evening.
Authorities said the suspicious blaze started at the Central Heights Church in Abbotsford at around 8 p.m., but that firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the flames.
Jesse Wilson, the discipleship and communications pastor with the church, told CTV News his biggest concern was not the structure, but the people who live in one of the building’s wings.
“My first reaction was sort of a heightened sense of vigilance like, 'Whoa!'” Wilson said.
Investigators obtained surveillance video from the church of a suspect they described as a dark-skinned man with an average build who is 30 to 40 years old and 5'8" to 5'10" tall.
Police said he was wearing a grey baseball hat, a bright yellow rain jacket, a white muscle shirt, black and white shoes, and "blue/green shorts with a pattern."
He was also carrying a dark brown or black backpack.
Investigators declined to release the video or images from it to CTV News.
“When people try to hurt people, they usually have been hurt themselves,” Wilson said.
“There’s a need for healing and reconciliation…and we want to lean in and pray,” he added.
A growing number of Canadian churches have been targeted with arson and vandalism in recent weeks, which some have speculated may be connected to the horrific discovery of unmarked graves at former residential school sites – though most of the culprits remain at large.
The Catholic Church administrated an estimated 70 per cent of the schools, while others were run by Anglican, United and Presbyterian churches.
“It’s difficult to say whether or not this particular case at our church is connect to anything larger,” Wilson said
Abbotsford police wrote that “no motive has been identified.”
The Catholic Church administrated an estimated 70 per cent of the schools, while others were run by Anglican, United and Presbyterian churches.
Earlier on Thursday, Vancouver police confirmed they have responded to 13 incidents of mischief and vandalism at church properties since early June.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.