Convenience store blaze latest in series of arsons at city businesses

Police say a recent fire at a Logan Avenue convenience store is being investigated as arson, though they have not confirmed whether it is connected to a series of extortion-related attacks targeting local businesses.

The blaze, which occurred early on Oct. 28 and was captured on video that later circulated on social media, shows two people entering Logan Convenience at 1521 Logan Ave. shortly after 1 a.m. One suspect appears to point a gun at the store clerk while the other pours liquid from a gas can across the floor.

Moments later, the armed suspect escorts the clerk out of the building as flames consume the one-and-a-half-storey structure — a building constructed in 1906 that once housed a branch of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.

The attack is the latest in a series of incidents targeting businesses, many in the North End, where store owners believe they are being extorted by an organized protection racket.

“We are begging for help. It’s affecting all types of businesses,” Ahmed Muhammad, owner of the Quickie Mart on Selkirk Avenue, said in July after several businesses were hit.

“People are going to get hurt. People are going to die. People have been inside when they’ve firebombed these places.”

Business owners at the time alleged four men had been demanding large sums of money to allow them to continue operating. Businesses are set on fire when the owners refuse to comply. The owners started a group chat to detail their experiences and share information. The men, they said, also visited Ur’s Convenience Store on Selkirk and Magnus Foods Grocery and Convenience Store on Main Street.

They said the same people threatened an automotive business on Selkirk, and a beauty salon in the area.

“The asks have ranged from anywhere between $1,000 and $3,000, monthly, or, ‘We will burn you down,’” Muhammad said, adding he received a text from one of the men demanding $500,000.

“These businesses don’t even make $3,000 a month. People aren’t making millions here.”

Police said last week that they are uncertain whether the fires are connected.

“At this point, they’re investigations, and I’m going to say no, they’re not all linked,” Insp. Jen McKinnon said at a news conference Friday.

Several city restaurants have been hit by arson this year, including Thida’s Thai Restaurant on Donald Street and Mae Sunee Thai Cuisine on Erin Street in July. Police believe they were targeted attacks.

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Security video from both Thai restaurants showed the attackers breaking into both properties in the early morning before trying to ignite Molotov cocktails.

In one video posted on Facebook, two men were seen at the Donald Street restaurant on July 4. One, wearing a mask, smashed the glass with a hammer, then tried to light an object on fire. When that failed, another object was ignited and thrown into a booth. Police arrived quickly and stopped the fire from spreading.

Commonwealth Kitchen & Bar was also set ablaze in July. Johnny G’s and Exchange Event Centre were torched in August, with both fires being investigated as arson, police said. No arrests have been made. Both buildings remained closed and boarded up.

Boujee Restaurant and Bar on Main caught fire late last month. Police said the fire is being investigated as a possible arson by its major crimes unit.

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca

Scott Billeck
Reporter

Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade’s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024.  Read more about Scott.

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