A suspect has been arrested in the fire at Langara College Monday morning that resulted in a heavy police presence and the evacuation of the school.
Vancouver police said that reports of a suspicious fire on campus first came in just before noon and witnesses told police that the suspect allegedly entered the school with “incendiary devices.”
“It appears the suspect may have lit one or more fires before fleeing from the scene.
The department’s emergency response team were on scene, as well as Vancouver firefighters and paramedics, and 49thAvenue was closed to traffic between Ontario and Alberta streets.
Heavily armed officers entered the school to search the school and found “a number of suspicious devices over the course of the afternoon,” police said in a press release.
The search is expected to continue into the night.
Police said a suspect was quickly identified and a man in his 20s was arrested in Surrey by Metro Vancouver Transit Police just after 4 p.m.
The suspect was turned over to Vancouver police and remains in custody.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Vancouver police major crimes investigators at 604-717-2541 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
In a statement on it's website, Langara College said the campus, including the parkade, is closed until further notice and all classes at the main campus are cancelled for Tuesday. The campus at 601 West Broadway will be open tomorrow and all classes will resume as usual.
"Please be assured that any personal possessions will remain secured in classrooms and offices where they were left," the statement reads. "Please watch for updates as to how you may recover any possessions."
West 49th Avenue between Ontario and Alberta, which was closed for most of the afternoon and into the evening, is open to traffic again.
@JessicaEKerr
jkerr@vancourier.com
