Police still searching for suspect after man set on fire in Campbell River

CHEK
WatchA 20-year-old man was set on fire as he slept under a bridge Tuesday morning.

Sue Moen, a homelessness advocate in Campbell River, said she was shocked to learn the news that a 20-year-old man was set on fire while he slept under a bridge over the Campbell River early Tuesday morning.

“The level of fear and concern spikes when this level of violence happens,” she said.

The man suffered serious burns but has been released from hospital. He might have been sleeping under the bridge because there are no homeless shelters for people his age in Campbell River.

“But they are particularly vulnerable to victimization and violence, much much more so than the general population of youth under 25,” Moen said.

There’s been a lot of speculation about who the suspect is and some people are even posting a picture of an individual on Facebook but police are cautioning very strongly against those actions, saying it could have a very negative impact on the investigation.

“It is definitely the intention of this local detachment to determine who this individual or individuals are and to hold them accountable under the law,” Const. Maury Tyre with Campbell River RCMP said.

Meanwhile, people like Jerry who walk in the area every day say it’s a terrible thing that happened.

“Well it’s kind of sad. There are so many of them in and out of here, like every day I walk there’s usually a different one somewhere standing in the bush or getting up from hiding someplace but there’s a couple who have been pretty nice guys to talk to, you say hello to them and they’re polite and nice and harmless but I guess they have no place to go,” he said.

And police are still asking for the public’s help. If anyone has information about what happened, they can call the Campbell River RCMP at 250-286-6221.

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