Manitoba

RCMP release surveillance images of possible suspects in Carman church fire

Police are hoping the public can help identify two people of interest as part of an investigation into a fire that gutted the Anglican/Lutheran church in Carman, Man.

Images captured minutes before emergency crews called to blaze

Two blurry figures are seen on a snowy street
Video surveillance images show potential suspects in the fire at Grace-St. John's Anglican/Lutheran Church last month. (Submitted by RCMP)

Police hope the public can help identify two people of interest as part of an investigation into a fire that gutted a church in Carman, Man.

The RCMP on Monday released grainy images from video surveillance in the area around the time the fire broke out inside Grace-St. John's Anglican/Lutheran Church on Second Street S.W.

The video is time-stamped 4:05 a.m. on March 13. Crews were dispatched to the fire minutes later.

Emergency responders weren't able to get inside the church because its floor had collapsed into the basement.

Instead, crews battled the fire from outside before being able to reach remaining hot spots inside.

A pile of burn rubble sits on the interior of a church.
The floor at Grace-St. John's Anglican/Lutheran Church in Carman, Man., collapsed during a fire on March 13. (Submitted by the RCMP)

The fire was deemed under control around 6 a.m., but roughly 75 per cent of the building's interior was compromised during the blaze, deputy fire chief Joey McElroy previously told CBC News.

Anyone with information about the people in the surveillance images is urged to call the Carman RCMP detachment at 204-745-6760.