A neighbour captured photos of the fire outside the Montreal home of Émile Benamor, who owns two buildings where nine people died in two separate fires. A vehicle outside Mr. Benamor's home caught on fire at around 3 a.m. on Oct. 17.Camille Geoffrion/Supplied
After deadly arsons at two of his buildings and shots fired at his office, a vehicle was set on fire early Thursday morning at the Dorval, Que., home of Émile Benamor.
Montreal police spokesperson Véronique Dubuc said emergency services were called to the scene in an affluent suburban neighbourhood at around 3 a.m.
A neighbour recorded a car fire outside the home of Émile Benamor in the early morning of Oct. 17 in Dorval, Q.C.
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Investigators found a can of gasoline and preliminary information suggests one suspect fled the scene on foot before police arrived, she said. No arrests have yet been made.
Camille Geoffrion, a neighbour, said she and her brother were woken up by a loud boom a little before 3 a.m. “I got up and saw through my window the vehicle on fire, you could only see fire,” she said. Her mother called 911.
Montreal property records show the house at the address where the vehicle was set on fire, a large home evaluated at nearly $4-million, belongs to Mr. Benamor. He also owns the two Old Montreal buildings where nine people died in two separate fires earlier this month and last year.
The burned-out remains of the Old Montreal building where two people died in a fire on Oct. 4.Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press
Two young men were charged with second-degree murder and arson for the Oct. 4 incident that killed a French mother and her young daughter. The March, 2023, fire that killed seven was also ruled criminal by Montreal police, who have said they submitted a report to the Crown prosecutor for analysis. No charges have yet been laid in this case.
Police have also arrested three people, including a minor, for shots reportedly fired at Mr. Benamor’s office on the night between Oct. 8 and Oct. 9. No one was injured. Two men, aged 19 and 20, were charged for the incident.