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Vigilantism linked to arson in north Sooke

Sooke RCMP are investigating a Molotov cocktail attack near Robinson and Otter Point roads early Saturday.
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On Vancouver Island in 2013

Sooke RCMP are investigating a Molotov cocktail attack near Robinson and Otter Point roads early Saturday.

Police say witnesses reported three men on ATVs enter a property at 1 a.m. which has two cabins and a trailer on it, and started banging on the door of one of the homes, asking “where the drug house was.”

The suspects then threw three Molotov cocktails at a home on the property, landing on the front porch, starting a fire. The home’s occupants awoke and put the fires out.

No one was injured, and there were no arrests.

While police officers were at the scene, an ATV approached again.

RCMP Staff Sgt. Jeff McArthur said an attempt was made to stop the driver, but he refused and managed to evade police.

The incident could be in connection to large posters that were placed on Robinson Road in the past several weeks.

The posters warned of drug users and thieves living at the address where the arson occurred, which may be a sign of “an escalation of vigilante activity,” McArthur said.

McArthur pointed out the investigation is still in its early stages, however, and no connection between the posters and the arson is confirmed.

“If you have information or concerns about criminal activity, please bring this information to the police and allow us to conduct an investigation,” he said.

“The crimes committed by what may be vigilantes, are much more serious than those alleged to have been committed by their intended targets.”

If you have information about this crime, please contact police at 250-642-5241 or Crime Stoppers at 1-888-222-TIPS (8477).