Thursday, June 18, 2026
ADVT 
National

Vancouver Police release video showing suspect in synagogue arson

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 26 Jun, 2024 11:38 AM
  • Vancouver Police release video showing suspect in synagogue arson

Police in Vancouver have released video showing a man who is believed to have set fire to the front entrance of a synagogue last month in the hope that someone may recognize the suspect. 

The security video shows a man wearing a dark jacket, light ball cap and a medical face mask approaching the front steps of the Schara Tzedeck synagogue on Vancouver's Oak Street on May 30 with a time stamp of 9:41 p.m. 

The man is carrying a clear bottle with liquid inside, and he unscrews the cap before disappearing from the frame. 

Less than a minute later, there is a bright flash and the video shows the man walking quickly down the synagogue stairs and onto the street.

A second video shows the front entrance from a different angle as orange flames spark and then flare up as the man walks away.

The police statement says investigators are looking to speak with anyone who might recognize the suspect in the video, as well as the driver of a beige or silver minivan that was seen in the area at the time of the fire.

Rabbi Andrew Rosenblatt has said people were inside the synagogue after services that same night, when they heard a "bang" outside.

But he said it was a passerby who alerted them that their building was on fire, before a member of the congregation put out the flames with his jacket.

MORE National ARTICLES

Family wants Walker extradited from U.S. to Canada

Family wants Walker extradited from U.S. to Canada
Dawn Walker, 48, is facing two charges in Oregon related to identity fraud along with two charges in Saskatoon of child abduction and public mischief. She was arrested Friday when she and her seven-year-old son were found in Oregon City, Ore., after a two-week search.

Family wants Walker extradited from U.S. to Canada

Cool weather brings some B.C. fires under control

Cool weather brings some B.C. fires under control
Crews are making progress on several wildfires in the province, including a blaze near Lytton that broke out nearly a month ago and destroyed several properties. But BC Wildfire Service information officer Mikhail Elsay told a news conference Wednesday that crews are still having a difficult fight with the 68-square-kilometre fire southwest of Penticton in the Okanagan.

Cool weather brings some B.C. fires under control

World food crisis prompts rise in child marriages

World food crisis prompts rise in child marriages
Plan International Canada says it has seen a worrying increase in the number of teenage girls in the developing world being forced into marriage because their families cannot afford to feed them. The agency says 12 million girls under the age of 18 become child brides each year, forcing them to abandon school while putting their health at risk through early pregnancies.

World food crisis prompts rise in child marriages

Coroner lists 16 suspected heat deaths in B.C.

Coroner lists 16 suspected heat deaths in B.C.
A report from the service on deaths says the fatalities happened between July 26 and Aug. 3, although the numbers are considered preliminary until investigations into each case conclude. The report shows all but two of the deaths happened in the Interior or Fraser health regions and involved victims aged 40 to over 90, with six in their 70s.

Coroner lists 16 suspected heat deaths in B.C.

West Fraser cuts mill shifts, 147 jobs in B.C.

West Fraser cuts mill shifts, 147 jobs in B.C.
The job cuts, expected to take place over the fourth quarter, come as the company permanently cuts about 170 million board feet of combined production at its Fraser Lake and Williams Lake sawmills and about 85 million square feet of plywood production at its Quesnel operation.

West Fraser cuts mill shifts, 147 jobs in B.C.

B.C. fund cuts plastic pollution: minister

B.C. fund cuts plastic pollution: minister
Environment Minister George Heyman says the province is a North American leader in plastic recycling and the government's CleanBC Plastic Action Fund is looking for more innovations to cut plastic pollution.

B.C. fund cuts plastic pollution: minister