London police won’t reveal why investigators believe a man accused of setting fire to a family’s house in an alleged hate-motivated crime has fled the country.
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London police won’t reveal why investigators believe a man accused of setting fire to a family’s house in an alleged hate-motivated crime has fled the country.
Police obtained a Canada-wide arrest warrant for Genadi Nacshonov, 55, of London on charges stemming from a June 8 fire at a house on Wateroak Drive, where pro-Palestinian signs also had been stolen and damaged on multiple occasions leading up to the blaze.
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Nacshonov is charged with arson with disregard for life, mischief of less than $5,000, uttering threats to damage property, harassment, wearing a disguise with intent, theft valued at less than $5,000 and trespassing at night. Police said investigators believe he has fled the country.
“Information gathered during the investigation leads us to believe that he is no longer in Canada,” Det.-Insp. Alex Krygsman said by email Monday without providing further details.
“We are also working with various authorities to determine his whereabouts and will work to bring him into custody to answer to the charges.”
The fire, which was called in on June 8 around 10:40 p.m., caused an estimated $30,000 damage to the home on Wateroak Drive, northeast of Fanshawe Park and Hyde Park roads. Nobody was injured.
Signs supporting Palestinians and the Afzaal family were stolen from the house an hour before the fire, and other incidents involving signs at the home dating back to early May were reported to police, police said. Four members of the London Muslim family were killed June 6, 2021, in what a judge concluded was a terrorist attack.
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Investigators released a photograph of a suspect and said they believed the same suspect set the fire and targeted the signs.
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The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) applauded police for the “significant investigative work” in the case but called on the government to bring Nacshonov back to Canada.
“We expect the government of Canada to work closely with international authorities to ensure that Nacshonov is brought to justice and that whatever country he fled to sends him back to Canada to face trial,” the council said in a statement.
The council didn’t respond to a request for comment Monday.
The trouble on Wateroak Drive first started a few weeks before the fire when a pro-Palestinian sign was stolen from the family’s front lawn, Nehal Al Tarhuni, president of the Canadian Palestinian Social Association and a friend of the family, previously said.
After the family replaced the sign, Al Tarhuni said someone shredded it and left a note saying: “If I see you putting the … free Palestinian sign up again, I am warning you.”
The family replaced the sign again but it was stolen a few days before the June 8 blaze and a liquid sprayed on the front porch, Al Tarhuni said.
Krygsman declined to say how investigators identified Nacshonov as a suspect, but he thanked the public for its support.
“I will say that the community has been very supportive throughout this investigation. We are grateful for the trust they have put in us,” he said.
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