Quebec police investigating Hells Angels' bunker fire
Sun. Oct. 19 2008 6:55 PM ET
Residents in Quebec are worried an apparent attack on a Hells
Angels bunker may spark another biker war in the province.
Quebec provincial police are investigating after a driver allegedly
rammed a truck into a Hells Angels bunker and set it on fire in
the town of Sorel-Tracy, about 100 kilometres northeast of Montreal.
Sgt. Joyce Kemp told CTV Newsnet on Sunday that witnesses allegedly
saw a truck purposely driven directly into the compound, which
then erupted into flames around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday night.
"The first information we had was that it was a truck that
voluntarily smashed into the building, setting it on fire,"
said Kemp. "The building was completely ruined, but nobody
was injured."
Dozens of nearby homes located near the blaze were evacuated
as the blaze gutted the hideout.
Police are investigating possible links between the incident
and two other suspicious fires in the town that night that destroyed
a commercial building and a residential building. So far, they
say there's no evidence the three blazes are connected.
But they added they haven't ruled out a connection between the
bunker fire and the seizure of stolen commercial explosives in
Montreal and Quebec City last Friday.
Investigative journalist Julian Sher, who co-authored a book
on the Hells Angels, told CTV Montreal that he fears the latest
incident may be a "wake-up call" that another biker
war may be about to start.
The last one between the Hells Angels and their rivals the Rock
Machine lasted for about eight years beginning in 1994. The gang
war claimed dozens of lives, including a little boy who was hit
by shrapnel during a bombing.
"It's a wake-up call to Quebecers, to the people of Quebec,
the politicians and to the police," he said.
Local residents say they feel helpless.
"Sure it bothers us, but there's nothing we can do about
it," one resident told CTV Montreal.
