Cloverdale residents say weekend house fire was arson, extortion notes received

Arson, attempted extortion alleged in Cloverdale People in the central Edmonton neighbourhood of Cloverdale say an arson took place Sunday, accompanied by extortion notes.

People in the central Edmonton neighbourhood of Cloverdale say arson is to blame for a weekend house fire and that extortion notes were left outside neighbouring homes.

Neighbours of the targeted house on 95 Street – home to a family with two young children – said no one was injured in the fire that destroyed it and that the home next to it was significantly damaged.

In an email to residents, the president of the neighbourhood community league said the Sunday morning fire was an act of arson and that notes were left at other houses in the neighbourhood, adding that police said the fire was a random attack, not based on who lived in the house or the neighbourhood.

CTV News Edmonton spoke with one neighbour, who asked to remain anonymous for safety, who said he received a note handwritten on an index card containing a threatening message and demanding $1,000 be sent to a Bitcoin account.

If it wasn't paid, his house would be targeted next, the note said.

Cloverdale resident Marta Gold told CTV News Edmonton that an incident this random "makes everyone afraid that any home in the neighbourhood could be targeted."

"It's just like a bad episode of CSI, the kind of thing you would watch on TV and just think that's just too unbelievable, that's a bad plot line and no one is going to believe it," Gold said on Wednesday.

Edmonton police confirmed to CTV News Edmonton they're investigating the matter as well as one other incident.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Nav Sangha