METEGHAN, N.S. 鈥� The Mounties say they are bringing in more officers to a southwestern Nova Scotia community where a patrol car was set on fire in a service station lot earlier this week.
Investigators say police responded to the blaze in Meteghan, N.S., after receiving a call around 1:45 a.m. on Wednesday.
Officers say that when they arrived, they found that the police car had been destroyed and two other non-police vehicles that were parked nearby were damaged by the fire.
Sgt. Jeff LeBlanc, the detachment commander, said in an interview that RCMP think the fire was set intentionally and that it is linked to other recent violent incidents in the area. He said that over the past six months the RCMP have investigated shots fired at residences, along with incidents of threatening behaviour and intimidation.
"Due to the influx of investigations, I've made the request for additional investigators and patrol members which has been answered and is on the ground as we speak," he said, adding this has more than doubled the current staff level of about seven officers.
LeBlanc said the Mounties are planning to maintain the "amplified police presence" in the community over the next weeks and months, with the added staff including both patrol officers and specialized investigators with expertise in organized crime.
The detachment commander said there isn't a link between the recent incidents and the dispute two years ago between Indigenous and non-Indigenous fishers over access to the lobster fishery in the area.
"This is a group of organized criminals within our community ... and that's what we're investigating at this time," the sergeant said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 18, 2024.
The Canadian Press
