Eight vehicles, including marked RCMP SUVs, were torched early Wednesday outside a hotel in Smithers, not far from Coastal GasLink pipeline construction.The vehicles were in a parking lot outside the Sunshine Inn when they were apparently set ablaze at about 4:30 a.m. Smithers RCMP were called to help the local fire department at the hotel in the 3800 block of 4th Avenue.
“This appears to be a targeted attack on emergency services vehicles. Preliminary investigation indicates this is an arson and we are asking for the public’s assistance in providing information so that the person or persons involved may be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” “With the apparent targeting of vehicles in a hotel parking lot, it could have been so much worse if the fire had spread to the adjacent buildings. At this point there are no suspects and the police are looking for witnesses and any possible video of the incident.”
“It’s starting to get a little bit embarrassing. We’re living in a place right now where Smithers is losing control. “They’re getting flooded with requests to fix a system that’s really broken right now,” said St-Onge.
Was it at Tim Hortons… or where were all the police when this happened?