Teen charged with setting fire at high school
A 15-year-old Kamloops boy has been charged with arson after fire gutted a courtyard and storage container at NorKam secondary earlier this year.
Nearly seven months after the Jan. 4 fire, Kamloops RCMP Staff Sgt. Grant Learned said charges have been laid following a long and slow investigation.
After the blaze, investigators and school officials said they believed multiple people were responsible.
But, Learned said, only one person has been charged.
"Whether or not there were other people that were involved remains open to speculation," Learned said.
He would not comment on whether the teen, described as a North Shore resident, might be linked to other suspicious fires in the area.
"Anything's possible in that regard," Learned said.
"He doesn't stand charged with any other counts of arson."
Just before 2 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 4, emergency crews were called to the high school at 12th Street and Tranquille Road in North Kamloops after a passerby noticed smoke.
Firefighters found and snuffed out the blaze in a secure courtyard. The fire caused extensive damage to a shipping container filled with wrestling mats, destroying three mats worth about $40,000.
In the days after the fire, a $1,000 reward — $500 coming from NorKam and $500 from School District 73’s facilities department — was offered for information leading to a conviction, though KTW has been told no reward will be handed over due to the fact the arrest did not come about as a result of information provided to the school or school district.
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