Man charged after van set on fire outside Vancouver City Hall Sunday

A suspect has been charged in connection to a vehicle fire outside of Vancouver City Hall Sunday.

The Vancouver Police Department said Monday that a 78-year-old man was arrested shortly after the discovery of the fire and is now in custody.

At around 5:15 p.m. Sunday, police were called to reports of someone lighting a minivan on fire at the Cambie Street and West 12th Avenue intersection outside Vancouver City Hall.

Crews put out the flames but had to shut down nearby roads after finding jerrycans of unignited gasoline inside the van.

“We believe this was an isolated incident. We believe that the suspect acted alone, and we don’t believe this incident is tied to today being the one-year anniversary of the October 7 attacks on Israel,” said Sgt. Steve Addison of the Vancouver Police Department.

Addison says the suspect is someone who has “come into contact with police” before, and the department has asked that the suspect’s mental health be examined as part of the investigation.

“We have asked that this person be evaluated psychologically and that consideration be given to keeping him in custody or giving very strict bail conditions to prevent any further risk to the public. As you can imagine, somebody lighting a vehicle on fire in front of City Hall in a busy residential neighbourhood on a Sunday night with that amount of gasoline in a vehicle had the potential to be extremely dangerous and extremely volatile,” said Addison.

Several charges against the suspect have been approved, including mischief, possession of an incendiary device, possession of explosives to cause danger or damage, and arson. 

Addison says fire crews and police treated the fire as a hazardous materials situation.

—With files from Emma Crawford and Maria Vinca