OFF THE WIRE
Canada
By: ctvbc.ca
Gang warfare has landed a disabled woman in hospital with severe burns after her home was apparently set on fire, according to Prince George RCMP, who are linking the blaze to a suspicious fire at a tattoo shop one day earlier.
A 60-year-old woman who is confined to a wheelchair had to be rescued when firefighters discovered her home fully engulfed in flames shortly after midnight on Wednesday.
She is now in critical condition with severe burns at a Vancouver Hospital.
Mounties in the northern city say the injured woman is related to a known gang member, who is currently in jail. The prisoner was formerly a tenant at the burnt home, located in the 4000-block of Foster Road.
Just a day earlier, firefighters were called to a suspicious blaze at the Twisted Soul Tattoo Shop on 7th Avenue -- an establishment that just happens to be operated by the same incarcerated gang member.
"We believe the suspicious fire at the Twisted Soul Tattoo Shop and this fire are somehow connected. This is an unsettling example of how innocent people are affected by organized crime as the violence they inflict on each other also affects the entire community," RCMP Const. Lesley Smith said in a release.
"It is not uncommon for a rival gang to inflict harm on their opponent by targeting a friend or family member."
Investigators are calling both fires suspicious.
Police haven't released the targeted man's gang affiliation, but say three gangs have taken hold in the city, including the Game Tight Soldiers, the Independent Soldiers and the Renegades, a motorcycle gang associated with the Hells Angels.
A fourth gxxg is believed to be trying to infiltrate the scene.
Prince George has seen an increase in gang activity and violence in recent years. Last month, it was rated as the most dangerous city in the county by Maclean's magazine, and RCMP blamed gang violence for the ranking.
Experts believe that a crackdown on the Hells Angels have left a vacuum in the local drug trade, and the remaining gangs are battling to fill the void.
Members of the Metro-Vancouver-based Uniformed Gang Task Force have visited the city several times in recent months to advise local Mounties on tactics.
http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20101125/bc_prince_george_fires_101125/20101125?hub=BritishColumbiaHome
