The last time Melinda Van Oostwaard spoke to her son Jeremy was three weeks ago.
She found out yesterday that he was arrested in connection with the fire bombing of a Strathmore home Saturday night.
“Nothing like this has ever happened before,” Van Oostwaard said, in shock about the incident.
Jeremy’s Facebook profile picture shows the 32-year-old smiling and affectionately holding his baby boy, Axel.
But RCMP said witnesses saw the accused get into an argument with the residents of a home on Maplewood Drive in Strathmore. Witnesses told RCMP that Jeremy vowed he would be back and kept his promise, allegedly smashing windows, threatening to kill the occupants and throwing Molotov cocktails at the residence, causing small explosions and a fire.
“It’s not like he’s a neighbour or an ex-friend or anything like that,” said Strathmore RCMP officer Sgt. Kevin Reilly. “The residents met him on that day — we don’t know what they were fighting about.”
Reilly said all fires were put out by the weather before fire crews arrived, and damage to the home is minimal.
