Thursday, June 11, 2026
ADVT 
National

Additional charges laid after Masonic hall fires

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 06 Apr, 2021 11:58 PM
  • Additional charges laid after Masonic hall fires

Police say five more charges have been approved against a man accused of setting fire to three Masonic halls in Metro Vancouver last week.

Police say 42-year-old Benjamin Kohlman was charged Tuesday with two counts of arson and three counts of break and enter to commit arson after fires in Vancouver and North Vancouver.

Police arrested Kohlman in nearby Burnaby within a few hours of the fires.

He was charged the following day with one count of arson in relation to the fire in Vancouver, as well as one count of assaulting a police officer.

All three fires were allegedly set in the span of an hour last Tuesday.

The first call came in at around 6:45 a.m. about a fire at the Lynn Valley Lodge in North Vancouver, while a second fire reported minutes later severely damaged a Masonic centre located four kilometres away.

Fire officials said the third fire at a Masonic hall in east Vancouver was reported around 7:30 a.m. and caused little damage.

MORE National ARTICLES

Trudeau promises to push police body-cameras with premiers to aid 'transparency'

Trudeau promises to push police body-cameras with premiers to aid 'transparency'
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he's planning to push provincial premiers to equip police with body-worn cameras as a rapid, substantive solution to allegations of racism and brutality.

Trudeau promises to push police body-cameras with premiers to aid 'transparency'

Anti-racism rally in COVID-19 era a balance of competing interests: Trudeau

Anti-racism rally in COVID-19 era a balance of competing interests: Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday his decision to attend an anti-black racism rally even amid ongoing restrictions on gatherings related to COVID-19 was a matter of balancing important competing interests.

Anti-racism rally in COVID-19 era a balance of competing interests: Trudeau

Vancouver police are on the lookout for a wanted male and female

Vancouver police are on the lookout for a wanted male and female
Vancouver Police are asking for the public’s help in locating two suspects recently charged and now wanted in relation to a violent sexual assault in Oppenheimer Park in April.

Vancouver police are on the lookout for a wanted male and female

Vancouver Police investigates Vancouver's 4th homicide

Vancouver Police investigates Vancouver's 4th homicide
Vancouver Police are investigating the death of a 37-year-old man who was stabbed in the Strathcona neigbourhood last month.

Vancouver Police investigates Vancouver's 4th homicide

Canada unemployment rate hits new record

Canada unemployment rate hits new record
Canada clawed back 289,600 jobs in May as provincial governments began easing public health restrictions and businesses reopened, Statistics Canada said Friday.

Canada unemployment rate hits new record

Kelowna, B.C., officer linked to violent arrest now on administrative duty: RCMP

Kelowna, B.C., officer linked to violent arrest now on administrative duty: RCMP
An RCMP officer has been taken off patrol after being involved in a violent arrest that was captured on video by bystanders in Kelowna, B.C. Staff Sgt. Janelle Shoihet says a statutory code-of-conduct investigation is underway into the officer's actions and he has been reassigned to administrative duties.

Kelowna, B.C., officer linked to violent arrest now on administrative duty: RCMP