VIDEO: VPD investigates after homeless woman’s blankets burned by arsonist

The Vancouver Police Department is seeking information about a man who set fire to a homeless woman’s blankets as she slept on a downtown sidewalk.

Footage from the incident, which took place on Hamilton Street, near Queen Elizabeth Theatre around 4 a.m. on Dec. 13, shows a woman in her 30s asleep on the sidewalk. An unknown man then walks up to her, paces around, and sets her belongings on fire before walking away. The fire smouldered for several minutes before spreading through the woman’s belongings before engulfing her, burning her jacket and blankets.

The video then shows the man walking away from the scene of the crime with a basket full of the woman's belongings which separate security cameras show him rummaging through. The video which captured the crime itself shows the woman escaping the inferno just in time and attempting to put out the blaze before leaving the scene. A VPD spokesperson said in a conference call held Tuesday that the Vancouver Fire Department arrived on scene to extinguish the rest of the flames.

The next morning a security guard noticed the charred remnants of the woman's blankets, checked the security camera footage and reported his findings to the VPD.

“This was a shocking attack that targeted a vulnerable member of our community, and we hope the public can help solve this crime,” says Sergeant Steve Addison, VPD.  “Fortunately, the victim woke up just in time to put the fire out and escape serious physical injury. A few more seconds and this could have been tragic.”

The Vancouver Police Department released this image of the suspect believed to have lit a homeless woman's blankets on fire as she slept. . By Vancouver Police Department

The woman, who survived the fire, did not report the incident to police and has not yet been located. According to a VPD release she appears to be white with dark, shoulder-length hair and was wearing a grey, full-length button-up jacket.

The suspect also appears white, between 35 and 50 years old, and between 5’ 5” and 5’ 10” inches tall. He wore a unique black and white Oakland Raiders jacket at the time of the crime.

With the investigation still ongoing VPD do not know if there is any relationship between the suspect and the victim. 

Investigators would like to speak to the victim and ask anyone else with information about this crime to call VPD’s Major Crime Section at 604-717-2541 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-669-8477.