Police say Montreal building targeted by suspected arson for third time

Montreal police are investigating a suspected arson at a commercial building in the city’s north end that they say has been targeted three times in less than three weeks.

Police spokesperson Jean-Pierre Brabant says police received a call at around 4:10 a.m. about a fire at a business on Jean-Talon Street near 22nd Avenue, north of downtown Montreal.

Brabant says officers arrived to find the fire in the Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension borough had spread, prompting evacuations from the second and third floors of the building.

Police say traces of an accelerant were found after the fire was brought under control, leading investigators to suspect arson.

Brabant says the fire caused major damage, and the building’s three floors are considered to be damaged beyond repair, but no casualties were reported.

Brabant says the same location was targeted in an attempted arson on Aug. 30 and again the following day, when a suspect allegedly smashed a window and threw an incendiary object inside.

Brabant says no arrests have been made in connection with any of the three incidents, and all three investigations remain ongoing.