Edmonton police have made an arrest and laid charges after two alleged arsons in October.
One of the fires took place at a business near 96th Street and 82nd Avenue on Wednesday, Oct. 2, in the Ritchie neighbourhood.
The suspect is also facing an additional arson charge related to a fire set at a west Edmonton school near 111 Avenue and 135 Street that also took place in October.
At this time, investigators believe the accused is responsible for one of the 24 arsons that occurred in Allendale, Belgravia, Ritchie, King Edward Park, Holyrood and Strathearn this year.
“We’re thankful for the public’s ongoing assistance with this investigation and are pleased to report we’ve made an arrest,” said Staff Sgt. Michael Dreilich with the EPS investigative response team (IRT).
On Saturday, Nov. 30, police arrested and charged Harrison Taron, 39, with arson.
EPS said investigators are working to identify additional people of interest.
“Patrols throughout the affected communities are expected to continue and anyone observing suspicious activity is asked to contact police as soon as possible,” Dreilich said.
As police revealed last week, this investigation is not connected to Project Gaslight — the probe into a series of extortion fires and shootings targeting members of the city’s South Asian community.
Police said investigators also do not believe that these events are related to extortion arsons intended to extract Bitcoin from victims.
Anyone with video footage or other information regarding arsons in this series is asked to contact the EPS at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a cell phone.
Anonymous information can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online.