On July 5, 2023, at approximately 10:10 pm, Thompson RCMP received a report that threats had been made at Thompson General Hospital by a female who said she was going to start a fire. The female left the hospital. Officers had a description and began to patrol the area.
At 10:22 pm, police received a report of a female lighting a fire at a local gas station. The female walked up to the gas pump and put a cigarette in the nozzle of the gas hose, starting a fire.
The female then attempted to light several other fires at other pumps. Fortunately, the gas pumps had all been turned off before her arrival, so there was only residual gasoline from the pump line there to ignite. The fires were extinguished quickly by an employee. The female then left.
Police attended the scene immediately, got information, and then began to patrol the area looking for the female. A short distance down the road, at the corner of Thompson Drive, Oak Street, and Juniper Place, officers saw a fire in an area where several pieces of heavy equipment and construction material are stored.
When officers approached the fire, they saw a female sitting on top of the excavator. Police called for fire assistance. Officers were able to get the female down safely from the machinery and in custody without incident. Police determined this was the female who had been at the hospital and the gas station.
The Thompson Fire Department attended immediately and were able to extinguish the blaze at the construction site. Nobody was physically injured at any of the scenes.
The 22-year-old female, from Thompson, is charged with Arson with Disregard for Human Life. She remains in custody at this time.
"We take this situation very seriously," said Staff Sergeant Shane Flanagan, Operations Officer for Thompson RCMP. "If those pumps had been turned on, this incident would have been much more serious, and there very likely would have been fatalities. The charge reflects the gravity of what occurred here."
The investigation continues.