‘I am scared for my life’: video of recent arson at gunpoint amplifies extortion threats for core-area business owners

A core-area business owner, who requested anonymity and declined to share details about his company out of fear for his life, says he and others feel they have no choice but to comply with extortion demands.

“We don’t have any other option,” the man said Tuesday. “I have to work. I have to keep going for my family. I have to work for my family. I am scared for my life.”

He said he continues to hand over money in exchange for promised protection — but the demands never stop.

“They keep coming, and they keep asking for more money,” he said, declining to say when he was last approached.

“We feel helpless. Nobody will protect us.”

Another business owner in the same area said it’s become like the “Wild West.”

“I’ve been here for 35 years,” the man said. “There’s no solution. Even the cops can’t solve it. I’ve felt helpless for a long time.

“But we have no other options. I have a family I have to support. The good thing is (my children) are almost finished with university now. So I’m happy.”

Both men said they had seen a video circulating on social media of the latest arson targeting a convenience store on Logan Avenue last week. Neither seemed surprised.

The charred remains of Logan Convenience at 1521 Logan Ave., which was set ablaze early on Oct. 28, were visible to passersby Tuesday as contractors removed plywood from the doors and began working on the store’s gutted interior.

Police confirmed the fire is being investigated as arson, though they have not said whether it is connected to a string of extortion-related attacks on local businesses.

Surveillance footage of the incident, which later circulated on social media, shows two people entering the store shortly after 1 a.m. One suspect appears to point a gun at the clerk while the other pours liquid from a gas can across the floor.

Moments later, the armed suspect leads the clerk outside as flames engulf the 1 1/2-storey building — constructed in 1906 and once home to a CIBC branch.

The attack is the latest in a growing series of violent incidents targeting businesses, many in the city’s North End, where owners say they’re being forced to pay for protection from an organized extortion racket, or face having their livelihoods go up in flames.

“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 at this point in time,” Insp. Jen McKinnon said at a news conference Friday, where emergency crews and other municipal staff said they are proactively working to reduce incidents of arson amid concern that frequent blazes are putting residents and businesses at risk.

McKinnon said police can’t publicly reveal much about those blazes without compromising the investigations.

“I know that the community wants answers… I know people are fearful. I know business owners are stressed about this…. We are aggressively working together to come to a resolution,” she said.

She called for business owners who have become victims of extortion attempts to contact police immediately. But one who spoke to the Free Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday questioned the value of doing so.

“Even for physical assaults, they don’t show up, never mind the thefts and threats,” he said, adding that even when incidents have been caught on his security cameras, they haven’t helped in making arrests.

Police investigated 177 arsons between January and September, and made 23 arrests. Some suspects were charged in multiple fires, police said.

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, and both are being investigated as arson, police said. No arrests have been made. Both buildings remained closed and boarded up.

Boujee Restaurant and Bar on Main Street 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.

Every piece of reporting Scott produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.