An investigation is underway after an intruder was found inside Moncton’s Avenir Centre overnight Sunday.
Police say at around 3:00 a.m. Sunday morning, Moncton firefighters were dispatched to the Avenir Centre.
“Upon arrival, they did hear an audible alarm inside, and did a search around the perimeter,” says Moncton Fire Chief Dennis Dollemont.
The call initially came in as a fire alarm that had gone off inside the building.
“The source of the alarm was from a water flow. It broke the sprinkler head and that was in the staff washroom,” adds Chief Dollemont.
But it wasn’t just a broken sprinkler they discovered inside the building. RCMP say they arrived on the scene shortly after the fire department, and found a man standing underneath the sprinker head.
The man was assessed by paramedics, and then led to a waiting squad car, under arrest for break and enter.
Eyewitness video from the scene shows that the man wasn’t wearing any shoes at the time.
RCMP declined to offer any details on the suspect, including his state of mind or where he lives, simply telling CTV News he wasn’t authorized to be in the building.
While unfamiliar with the exact circumstances of Sunday night’s incident, local advocates say other factors could have led to this break-in.
“There are a lot of homeless people,” says Cal Maskery, founder of Harvest House Atlantic. “There’s some people that won’t come to a shelter, and they prefer to stay in tents.”
Maskery says he’s seen many cases of this nature in the area.
“Sometimes people just try to get in wherever they can for the night. Not everyone’s first thought is shelter.”
RCMP say the suspect remains in custody, and Moncton fire says there was no significant damage to the building.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kate Walker.
