Police investigating arson at Camp B’nai Brith near Quyon

Police investigating arson at Camp B’nai Brith near Quyon

Update 3:10 p.m. February 13 – This article has been updated from its original version to add a photo of the scene and a follow-up statement from MRC des Collines police. 

MRC des Collines Police are investigating two suspicious fires at a summer camp near Quyon early Sunday morning.

At around 4:35 a.m. on February 12, fire crews were called to Camp B’nai Brith after a citizen reported a fire at the facility, located on chemin River in the Municipality of Pontiac. Police state that when the firefighters were putting out the initial blaze in a storage building, another fire started at another building on the property.

Police stated that since “certain elements” were deemed suspicious, the fire service handed over the investigation to police roughly three hours after the initial call was made.

Police issued a follow-up statement on Monday afternoon (February 13), calling the incident an act of arson, but offering few details.

“At this time, there is no evidence to suggest that this was an anti-Semitic or racially motivated act,” police wrote in the second statement. “However, it is still too early in the investigation to rule out this possibility. The amount of damage is currently estimated at nearly $600,000.”

In a statement on social media, Camp B’nai Brith of Ottawa leadership said that no one was injured and that “there is no increased security threat at this time.”