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Ottawa police investigate RBC firebombing
Police say they're pursuing "all available leads" in the investigation into the explosive fire at a Royal Bank in Ottawa early Tuesday, but would not discuss an online video that claims the blaze was the deliberate act by an anti-establishment group.
Ottawa police said the fire, on Bank Street in the Glebe neighbourhood, broke out about 3:30 a.m. ET, and was being treated as suspicious after witnesses reported seeing people fleeing the scene.
On Tuesday afternoon, a video appeared on an independent media website showing the RBC branch at Bank Street and First Avenue light up suddenly before flames spilled out the front of the building. Two people can be seen walking out and heading offscreen.
The scene is followed by a written statement scrolling up the screen and read aloud by a computerized voice stating that RBC was a major sponsor of the 2010 Olympics on "stolen indigenous land."
G8, G20 summits threatened
"The [Olympic] Games in Vancouver are now over, but resistance continues. An RBC branch can be found in every corner of Kanada," said the statement, quoting directly.
The statement, signed by "FFFC - Ottawa," also says the group will be at the G20 summit in Toronto June 26-27 and at the G8 Summit near Huntsville, Ont., June 25-26.
The video and statement were posted under the title "Direct Action in Ottawa" on the website of the Ottawa Independent Media Centre by someone named GracB.
In a statement released Wednesday, RBC said it is working with police to ensure those responsible for setting Tuesday's fire are caught.
Residents shaken by fire
The Glebe neighbourhood has seen four major fires at residential dwellings in the last six months, and many residents CBC spoke with before the release of the video had assumed the bank fire was similar.
The discovery that the fire may have been political in nature was a surprise to Diane Munrer, a resident of the Glebe for 35 years.
"I feel as if I'm in a place like Kabul rather than the Glebe because this is terrifying," said Munrer on Wednesday. "I hope whoever did it is caught and brought to justice because this is certainly a peaceful, family-oriented neighbourhood."
Tom Quiggin, a researcher at Carleton University's Canadian Centre for Security Studies, said RBC is a high-profile target for anarchist or anti-establishment groups.
He said the bank has been the target at least nine times in the past two years, with attacks involving everything from throwing bricks through windows to spray painting. But the attacks have tended to avoid injuring people, he said.
"Most of these groups tend to be out to destroy property but not life," said Quiggin.
District Chief Jim Bloom of the Ottawa fire department said the blaze started in the bank's ATM area and quickly spread to the roof. It took 16 fire trucks and 35 firefighters to get the fire under control within half an hour of responding.
Damage is estimated at $300,000 and the bank will be closed for at least a week. The fire did not spread beyond the bank to any neighbouring businesses.
Source: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2010/05/19/ott-fire-bombing-bank.html