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Regina police now believe someone caused the explosion of a multi-unit dwelling in the city on Nov. 13.
On Nov. 14, Regina Fire and Protective Services said the blast on Retallack Street was caused by a “compromised” gas line. On Friday, police said someone was responsible for that happening.
“It’s believed the explosion itself was accidental, but the compromise of the gas line is a criminal act, caused by a person or persons unknown at this time,” Regina police said in a media release. “Further investigation showed that the gas line was compromised on November 13, 2022 between the hours of 5 a.m. and 7 a.m.”
Police say they’re investigating the incident as a break, enter and commit mischief.
“We know that the property was vacant, so anybody in there constitutes a break-and-enter at that time,” Det. Const. Mark Oliver of the Explosives Disposal Unit told reporters Friday afternoon. “We know that the line was compromised, so that constitutes the mischief side of that break-and-enter.”
Oliver couldn’t say how the gas line was compromised. He noted the time frame set out by police was determined by the buildup of gas and gas pressure inside the house.
Police are asking anyone who may have seen suspicious activity at 1202 Retallack St. on Nov. 13 to call them at 306-777-6500 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
As well, police are asking anyone in the area with a video surveillance system to check their stored video from Nov. 12-13 to see if their cameras picked up anything unusual.
“We know that many cameras were destroyed because of the event, but most of that stuff is stored in the Cloud or on a hard drive,” Oliver said. “We’re looking for some evidence that may come forward of any suspicious activity.”
On Nov. 13 just before 11 a.m., a four-plex at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Retallack Street owned by Regina Housing exploded. Social media posts from people suggested the blast could be heard and felt in areas across the city.
There was one injury reported to the fire department. A person who lived down the street from the house that exploded suffered minor cuts when a window in their apartment was blown out.
A neighbouring apartment building had to be demolished because of the significant damage it received when the house exploded. The carnage in the area made the investigation difficult.
“The biggest challenge we had is the size of it,” Oliver said. “The debris field is so large and so big and we had damage for a block, a block and a half, to other homes and obviously the building right beside it.
“It was a large area to do a physical search of and that’s ultimately what we conducted in the following days, a physical search of those areas to see what the damage was.”