A 24-year-old woman suffered burns after a thief broke into her apartment and set a small fire before leaving — the third such incident in Vancouver in less than one month.
Police yesterday warned people to lock their windows and sliding glass doors at night, and to be vigilant.
On all three occasions the thief crawled through a cracked window or slid through an open door. He stole “minor items” before setting the fire. The person even scaled buildings to gain access to apartments above the ground floor, Const. Lindsey Houghton said.
“The incidents are similar enough … that we do believe it is quite possible that these have been perpetrated by the same person,” Houghton added.
No one was home during the first two incidents on Sept. 10 and 23. However, a woman was sleeping in her apartment just before 1 a.m. when the fire alarm went off. She suffered second-degree burns trying to put it out.
“In all three incidents the people living in the suites are all living alone,” Houghton said. It’s unknown if they were targeted for that reason.
He added the case has been “very disturbing to our arson investigators.”
