Man charged with arson, assault after bizarre attack at Vancouver Island home

Mounties are investigating a chaotic incident in which a man allegedly crashed his vehicle into a home on Vancouver Island before setting fire to the residence and attacking the occupants inside.

The incident began around 4:30 p.m. Monday, when the Oceanside RCMP were notified that a vehicle had been driven into a home in Bowser, approximately 70 kilometres northwest of Nanaimo.

Responding officers were told “moments after” that the home “was now on fire,” the RCMP detachment said in a news release Tuesday.

While emergency personnel were still en route to the scene, “further information was received that the homeowner and occupants were being attacked,” the release said. “Information provided at that time had implied someone had died but this was later determined not to be so.”

Spokespersons for the RCMP could not confirm how many people were injured in the attack, saying police were still gathering information about the incident Tuesday afternoon.

One of the police vehicles that was responding to the scene was involved in a collision near the intersection of the Island Highway and Crescent Road in Qualicum Beach. “Both vehicles involved sustained significant damage and luckily there were no major injuries,” the RCMP said.

Meanwhile, a suspect was arrested at the scene and transported to the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. Investigators have identified the suspect as Dempsey Alan Meechan.

Oceanside RCMP spokesperson Const. Tim Kenning told CTV News the suspect is the adult son of the parents who were victims in the attack.

Court records show Meechan, who was born in 1985, was held in police custody and was scheduled to appear in court Tuesday, charged with one count each of mischief, assault with a weapon, dangerous operation of a conveyance and arson in relation to an inhabited property.

“The Oceanside RCMP believe this was an isolated incident with no outstanding risk to the public,” the RCMP release said.