Deadly Old Montreal fire: police arrest two suspects aged 18 and 20

Montreal police have arrested two young adults in connection with the deadly fire in Old Montreal last week that killed two people.

The two suspects, aged 18 and 20, were arrested Friday in the city's Saint-Laurent and Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve boroughs, said the head of the police's major crime section, Jean-Sébastien Caron, at a news conference.

One of the suspects started the fire after allegedly throwing an incendiary device into the building, while the other drove a getaway vehicle after the fire broke out, Caron said.

A decision is expected to be made within the next 24 hours on what charges they could face.

Caron thanked the investigators working on the case, saying that more work needs to be done for the major crime unit "to identify the mastermind behind this arson."

This is a breaking news update. Our earlier story is below. 

Montreal Police (SPVM) have arrested two suspects in connection with the deadly fire that destroyed a 160-year-old building in Old Montreal, resulting in the deaths of two people.

The victims were identified as Léonor Geraudie, 43, and her seven-year-old daughter, Vérane Reynaud-Geraudie. Both were French nationals.

The SPVM will hold a press conference on Friday afternoon to provide an update on the investigation. 

• WATCH LIVE AT 3 P.M.: Police provide update on Old Montreal fire investigation

Their bodies were pulled from the rubble in the three-storey building and identified by Coroner Géhane Kamel.

Following the Oct. 4 blaze, Noovo Info obtained a surveillance video showing a person dressed in black clothing appearing to break into the building. The individual is seen kicking down the door at the front entrance and then leaving moments later as smoke appears to come out of the entrance. The person then flees on foot.

On Tuesday, Quebec's Public Security Minister François Bonnardel requested a public inquiry into the fire, which Kamel will oversee. 

The building, located at the corner of Notre-Dame Street East and Bonsecours Stree, is owned by Emile Benamor, the same owner of another Old Montreal building that caught fire in 2023, killing seven people. 

According to police, the investigation into the 2023 fire was handed over to the Quebec Crown prosecution office for review, but no charges have yet been laid in that case.

Police confirmed this week that at the time of the fire, there were 25 people inside the building, which housed a wine bar on the ground floor and a 19-room hostel on the upper floors. All survivors have been accounted for, and police do not expect to find additional victims, though the search is continuing to rule anything out.

With files from CTV Montreal's Matt Grillo, Joe Lofaro, Stephane Giroux, Noovo Info and The Canadian Press