A 15-year-old Canadian girl is accused of torching a professional baseball team’s bus while players slept at a nearby hotel, leaving the vehicle and all its contents burned to a shell.
The fire broke out around 1:50 a.m. outside Blue Cross Park in downtown Winnipeg, where the Kane County Cougars’ charter bus was parked during the team’s trip north of the border, according to police.
Firefighters discovered the tour bus fully engulfed in flames when they arrived at the ballpark, which serves as the home to the Winnipeg Goldeyes.
The Kane County Cougars, an independent professional team based in Geneva, Ill., were in Winnipeg to play the Goldeyes in a three-game series when the fire erupted. The tragedy struck the team hours after their second game.
Authorities said the entire bus and everything inside it were destroyed. The Cougars said players lost equipment and personal belongings in the blaze, though no injuries were reported.
The team was sleeping at a Winnipeg hotel when the fire broke out, according to ABC7 Chicago.
Police said a bystander spotted someone inside the burning bus and helped them escape before first responders reached the scene. Officers later detained two teenagers suspected of deliberately starting the fire.
A 15-year-old girl was charged with arson causing damage to property and possession of incendiary material.
Police said she was later released on an undertaking into “the custody of a responsible adult.”
An undertaking under Canadian law is a promise to appear in court and comply with court-ordered conditions.
The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service put out the blaze.
The Cougars said the Winnipeg Goldeyes helped arrange a replacement bus so the team could travel to Fargo, North Dakota, for its weekend games against the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks.
The club’s Iowa-based bus company, Windstar, is sending another bus to bring the team back to Illinois after the series.
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