Montreal

Police search for 3 teens after Snowdon Theatre fire declared arson

Police confirm they are looking for three teenagers in connection to Saturday’s fire at Snowdon Theatre.

Images posted to Snapchat show pile of burning foam

This image of a fire inside the abandoned Snowdon Theatre was posted to Snapchat. (mtlurb.com)

Montreal police confirm they are looking for three teenagers in connection to Saturday's fire at Snowdon Theatre that caused heavy damage to the vacant three-storey building.

Police said Monday afternoon they identified two of the three suspects and that they are minors.

''For now, we will put our efforts into questioning the two minors, extract as much information as we can," said Abdullah Emran, a spokesman for the Montreal police.

Online pictures real?

Confirmation from police came soon after pictures were posted online. One photo shows someone standing over a pile of foam. Another picture shows the foam on fire.

The images were posted to Snapchat and appeared later on an online real estate forum.

But Emran said police are not certain of the validity of the photos.

"Are these pictures real? Were they created by someone? It still needs to be determined.''

Images on the social media app Snapchat are designed to only last 24 hours and are then automatically deleted. (mtlurb.com)

Ninety firefighters put out the blaze Saturday after receiving calls of black smoke coming from the building around 4:30 p.m. The building was left with extensive damage to the roof.

Police later called the fire "suspicious" since there were no utilities in the building and nothing that could have caught fire on its own. By Monday, police confirmed the incident to be arson.

With files from CBC journalist Antoni Nerestant