Charge laid in apartment arson

A man was arrested Tuesday after an arson at an apartment building hours earlier caused an estimated $100,000 in damage.

The fire at the five-storey building on the 100 block of Clarke Street started shortly after 10:30 p.m. Monday. Crews found a fire in one of the suites and declared it under control at about 11 p.m.

Firefighters helped some residents get out of the building. Damages were primarily contained to the suite, the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service said earlier this week.

Police arrested a 31-year-old man shortly after 1:20 a.m. Tuesday. He has been charged with arson with disregard for human life and was also wanted on a warrant for failing to attend court, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a news release Thursday.

He was detained in custody.

Two officers hurt

in knife attack

Two police officers suffered “serious injuries” when a man lunged at them in the basement of a home Wednesday.

Officers were called about a domestic incident involving a man acting erratically at a short-term rental property on the first 100 block of Bonaventure Drive West in the Bonavista area shortly after 5 p.m. A woman was outside when officers arrived.

Police found a 30-year-old man hiding in the basement, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a news release Thursday. As officers were speaking with him, he pulled out a folding knife and lunged at them, the WPS said.

Officers immediately grabbed the man as he tried to stab them, the release said. The man dropped the knife after at least one officer used a Taser on him, police said. Paramedics assessed him at the scene for minor injuries, the WPS said.

Both officers were taken to hospital. They have been medically cleared and are expected to recover, the release said.

The man is charged with two counts of assaulting a peace officer with a weapon.

He was detained in custody.

Man arrested had cut off ankle monitor

A man who cut off his ankle monitor while on probation was later arrested with an illegal gun, police say.

Officers stopped a taxi on the 500 block of Selkirk Avenue for a Highway Traffic Act offence at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Winnipeg Police Service said Thursday.

Police learned a passenger was wanted for breach of probation and then found a loaded sawed-off shotgun, a magazine with ammunition, a folding knife and seven packages of illegal cigarettes in a duffle bag.

The man, 41, and another passenger — a 25-year-old woman — are facing charges.

The man was detained in custody, while the woman was released on an undertaking.