A recent series of attacks were directed towards 10 people who have connections with the Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC), according to the Vancouver Sun.
“Disturbingly, it seems innocent people have been subject to the arsons of their homes and vehicles, while some have had their residences or vehicles shot at,” RCMP chief superintendent Janice Armstrong said in a press release.
Armstrong told the Vancouver Sun that no one has been injured in these attacks, which began in April, and continued through last month.
“It is very difficult to say if it is one person or multiple people who might be involved in this,” Armstrong said.
“An investigator recognized a link between seemingly unconnected criminal events occurring throughout the lower mainland,” Armstrong told the Vancouver Sun.
“We have a dedicated team in place from the RCMP to the municipal police departments who are working long hours to solve these crimes,” Armstrong said. “I can tell you that this file is a top priority for all police in lower mainland.”
Though the identities of the victims have not been released, among the 10 people who were attacked, three of them worked at the New Westminster post-secondary institution, which trains police, firefighters and others involved in public safety.
Two of the other victims are former students and the others have loose connections to the institute, Armstrong told Maclean’s magazine.
Because none of the attacks have occured at the JIBC’s campus, classes have continued, the institution’s president Jack McGee said in a statement.
“We are doing everything we can to support the police investigation and taking all possible steps to protect the safety and security of students, staff, faculty and the public who access our campuses,” McGee told CTV.
