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A Canadian teenager, just 15 years old, stands accused of setting ablaze a professional baseball team’s bus while its players were resting at a nearby hotel. The fire reduced the vehicle and its entire contents to ashes.
The incident occurred at approximately 1:50 a.m. near Blue Cross Park in downtown Winnipeg. Police report that the Kane County Cougars’ charter bus caught fire during the team’s visit to Canada.
Upon arrival at the scene, firefighters found the tour bus completely consumed by flames outside the ballpark, which is the home ground of the Winnipeg Goldeyes.
The Kane County Cougars, an independent pro team from Geneva, Illinois, were in town for a three-game series against the Goldeyes. The fire broke out shortly after their second match concluded.
Officials confirmed that the bus, along with everything inside, was utterly destroyed. The Cougars shared that players lost valuable equipment and personal items in the fire. Fortunately, there were no injuries reported.
The team was sleeping at a Winnipeg hotel when the fire broke out, according to ABC7 Chicago.
Police said a bystander spotted someone inside the burning bus and helped them escape before first responders reached the scene. Officers later detained two teenagers suspected of deliberately starting the fire.
A 15-year-old girl was charged with arson causing damage to property and possession of incendiary material.
Police said she was later released on an undertaking into “the custody of a responsible adult.”
An undertaking under Canadian law is a promise to appear in court and comply with court-ordered conditions.
The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service put out the blaze.
The Cougars said the Winnipeg Goldeyes helped arrange a replacement bus so the team could travel to Fargo, North Dakota, for its weekend games against the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks.
The club’s Iowa-based bus company, Windstar, is sending another bus to bring the team back to Illinois after the series.