A condo-building owner in Regina is asking for public assistance in identifying a person in security camera footage who appears to deliberately set fire to a condo.
The fire took place Thursday morning in Regina’s warehouse district at the corner of Halifax Street and 7th Avenue.
No one was injured in the fire.
Now, security camera footage of the incident is circulating on Facebook. Building owner Joe Wollner is offering a reward for information. His lawyer, Tony Merchant, is under the impression the reward is as high as half a million dollars.
READ MORE: Regina fire crews contain fire Thursday morning
Global News was unable to contact Wollner directly Monday.
“The hypothesis is that it’s related to Mr. Wollner’s family law dispute. Why else would somebody target him?” Merchant said.
“He’s concerned about society and that other people were endangered. That’s why he’s offering a reward for information.”
Merchant added that people interested in the monetary reward should relay information through his office.
Merchant confirmed that Wollner lived in the burned unit until recently. A tenant currently lives in that unit.
The video shows an individual walk through the backyard of the complex carrying what Merchant believes are two jerry cans. The individual approaches the condo, and seemingly struggles to light a fire. Eventually there is a large flash, and the suspect runs away.
“It appears this genius has found a way to light himself on fire. There’s nothing humourous about it, but it’s humourous,” Merchant said while watching the person run from the blaze.
While watching the video, Merchant repeatedly referred to person as male.
“One of the videos, you can see the man walking with the two jerry cans and you can get a sense of his gait and the kind of person he is,” Merchant said.
They also have the video, and it is part of the investigation. A spokesperson said that police need to do more work to prove that the video does in fact show a person setting fire to the condo.
Police do not have anyone in custody in connection with the fire at this time. They ask anyone with information contact the RPS or Crimestoppers.