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Explosion, grass fires keep Victoria police busy

Weekend sees higher-than-average call volume for VicPD
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The Victoria Police Department had a busy weekend, with Saturday being particularly busy. (Black Press Media file photo)

The Victoria Police Department was kept busy with an explosion in calls over the weekend, one of which involved an actual explosion.

The weekend saw officers respond to a higher-than-average call volume, with two firey calls of note. In a release published Tuesday (Aug. 22) police said Saturday (Aug. 19) in particular was especially busy, with the first significant call coming in around 8 a.m. with a report of an assault in the 1900-block of Douglas Street.

Witnesses told police they had heard a loud bang and saw an explosion outside the front doors of a building close to bystanders.

After they put out the flames sparked by the explosion, the witnesses told police they asked the suspect to leave the area and were assaulted.

The suspect was identified by police and arrested around 3:30 p.m. that day for assault and causing an explosion.

The calls continued Saturday evening when around 6 p.m., an officer was flagged down and told about a rapidly spreading grass fire in the 600-block of Chatham Street.

The officer started working to put out the fire with the fire extinguisher kept in his patrol car and called the Victoria Fire Department for assistance.

The same officer was also informed about another smaller grass fire burning in the area, which he also worked to extinguish.

Witnesses reported seeing a person lighting the fires, and officers were able to identify and locate the suspect, arresting him later that evening.

Police said in the release the investigations remain ongoing, and no further information about them can be released at this time.

READ MORE: Firefighters face ‘wall of flame’ in late-night West Shore wildfire



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