A 31-year-old man has been arrested by Hamilton police officers on charges of arson, following a disturbing incident where an ambulance was deliberately set on fire outside a hospital in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The unsettling event took place outside Hamilton General Hospital on Barton Street East around 6 a.m., as confirmed in a statement released by the police service the following day.
Paramedics had just brought a patient into the hospital when they returned to find the ambulance engulfed in flames, with fortunately no one inside at the time.
After conducting interviews with witnesses and analyzing surveillance footage, investigators concluded that an individual had poured an accelerant into the ambulance before fleeing on foot as the fire spread.
The police apprehended a suspect at a nearby bus stop shortly after the incident.
While the motive behind the arson and the extent of the damage remain unclear, the accused, who has not been publicly named, faces charges of arson disregarding human life and three counts of failing to comply with a probation order.