Suspect in alleged arson identified but likely has left country: Police

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London police say they have identified a suspect in an alleged arson at a northwest London home where pro-Palestinian signs were stolen, but investigators believe he has left the country.

Genadi Nacshonov, 55, of London has not been located, police said Friday evening, but he has been charged by way of warrant with seven offences, including arson with disregard for life.

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The fire on June 8 at the home on Wateroak Drive was condemned by local Muslim leaders and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who described it as “an act of hate” and urged Canadians to keep confronting Islamophobia.

Nacshonov is charged with arson with disregard for human life, mischief under $5,000, uttering threats and property damage, criminal harassment by threatening conduct, disguise with intent, theft under $5,000 and trespassing at night, police said.

Det. Insp Alex Krygsman, head of the London police investigative services branch, thanked the community for its patience and help in the investigation.

“Our investigative team has worked tirelessly to identify a suspect and ensure that the appropriate charges are laid. Although charges have been laid, this investigation continues to be active and ongoing, and will remain so until the accused is brought into custody,” he said in a news release.

The release didn’t say why investigators believe Nacshonov has left the country or where he may have gone.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call London police at 519-661-5670.

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Nehal Al Tarhuni, president of the Canadian Palestinian Social Association and a friend of the family whose home was damaged by fire, told The Free Press earlier this week someone removed a pro-Palestinian sign on the front lawn of the home a few weeks ago.

She said when the family replaced it, the person returned and shredded the sign with a utility knife in the middle of the night and left a note that read: “If I see you putting the f***ing free Palestinian sign up  again – I am warning you.”

The family replaced the sign again last week but this time more than a dozen neighbours also displayed the sign, Al Tarhuni said.

“They put signs on their street to show solidarity with their neighbours,” she said.

A couple of days before the fire, the culprit returned to the home and stole all the signs before dousing their front step with a liquid, Al Tarhuni said.

Then on Saturday June 8, London firefighters responded just after 10:30 p.m. to a fire at the entrance of the two-storey home. The fire was put before it could spread but left a blackened front door and smoke stains surrounding the entrance.

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Nobody was injured and damage was estimated at $30,000.

The family who lives in the home has declined interview requests.

Krygsman said on the weekend police are investigating the fire as a possible hate-motivated incident.

Investigators believe the same person was responsible for stealing and damaging signs and starting the fire, he said.

London police released a photo of the suspect, who was described as a man between 30 and 50, with a medium to heavy build. He was wearing grey shoes, dark pants, a light-grey zip-up sweater with black accents under the arms, a dark-coloured toque and a medical mask.

Hikma Public Affairs Council, an advocacy group for London Muslims, denounced the arson and said it was especially troubling because it occurred just days after the third anniversary of the attack on the Afzaal family.

“These kinds of incidents are still out there and these kinds of aggressions are still happening despite all the calls for fighting hate,” spokesperson Nawaz Tahir said.

Talat Afzaal, 74, her son Salman Afzaal, 46, his wife Madiha Salman, 44, and their daughter Yumnah, 15, were struck and killed by a pickup truck at the corner of Hyde Park and South Carriage roads while out for a walk on June 6, 2021. 

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The driver of the pickup, Nathaniel Veltman, 22, was a white nationalist who harboured intense resentment toward Muslims. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the murders and the attempted murder of a young child who survived.

The judge who sentenced him in February found he committed a terrorist act.

Hundreds of Londoners attended a vigil for the Afzaal family on June 6 at the corner where they were hit, about a kilometre from the home that was set ablaze.

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