Police are seeking a suspect in the case of a suspicious fire that broke out in the wee hours of the morning of Oct. 4 in a commercial and residential building in northeastern Montreal.
The fire at the corner of Jean Talon St. and 17th Ave. is believed to have been started by someone who broke into the Café La Barca restaurant on the main floor through the back door at around 4 a.m.
Police believe he threw a Molotov Cocktail or similarly powerful flammable object that led to the restaurant's windows being blown out.
The suspect sought by police was dressed in black the night of the fire and, according to information gathered over the course of the investigation, fled the scene with his hands on fire. He would therefore have burn marks on both hands.
The fire took little time to take hold of the building, particularly the top two floors of the three-storey building where people lived.
All residents were evacuated and the fire was extinguished by the 20-odd firefighters on the scene.
There was a rash of arsons in Italian cafés like Café La Barca late last year and early this year, but Montreal police Const. Anie Lemieux said it is not known if this incident is related to that string of incidents.
Anyone with any information on the case or who can help track down the suspect are asked to call Info-Crime at 514-393-1133.
