Senior charged after minivan set ablaze outside Vancouver City Hall

The day after a minivan was set ablaze outside Vancouver City Hall in what authorities have called an "extremely volatile incident," a 78-year-old man has been criminally charged.

Counts of arson to property, possession of explosives, possession of incendiary material and mischief have been approved against Thien Ngo, the Vancouver Police Department announced Monday.

The alarming incident happened Sunday evening along 12th Avenue, where a passerby spotted a man lighting the minivan on fire and called 911.

While firefighters were able to douse the flames quickly, and no one was hurt, first responders said they located approximately 100 litres of unignited gasoline inside the vehicle.

"It became a very dangerous situation," Sgt. Steve Addison told reporters Monday. "I can't overstate how dangerous this behaviour was."

Authorities were forced to close the street for several hours to ensure safety at the scene.

One day later, the motive remains a mystery.

Addison said he was aware of reports that a manifesto was collected at the scene, but could not confirm their veracity.

Investigators do not believe the incident is connected to the anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, or "any other geopolitical events," Addison added.

"We believe this was an isolated incident, we believe that the suspect acted alone," he said.

A witness told CTV News she saw a suspect kneeling beside the minivan and watching the flames on Sunday, until emergency crews arrived and placed him under arrest.

“He was very calm when the police put handcuffs on him,” Janna Bentley said following the incident. “He didn’t try to get away or anything.”

Ngo remained in police custody as of Monday afternoon, authorities said.

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Kaija Jussinoja