Fire started inside Winnipeg restaurant as ‘diversion’ to skip out on bill: police
Posted January 8, 2026 1:58 pm.
Winnipeg police are looking to identify a suspect who they say was part of a group that started a fire inside a Norwood West restaurant to avoid paying the bill.
The Winnipeg Police Service says it happened on the night of Nov. 20, 2025, at a restaurant on St. Mary’s Road between Marion and Horace streets.
Police were told a group of two women and three men ordered food and drinks at the restaurant.
“When it came time to settle the bill for the consumed items, a fire was set inside the restaurant causing significant damage,” Winnipeg police said in a news release.
The fire was put out and the suspects fled on foot before firefighters and police showed up. There were no injuries.
Investigators believe the fire was deliberately set “as a diversion to facilitate the suspects’ escape.”
Authorities have released photos of one of the suspects. She is described as a woman in her 20s or 30s, with a medium build, brown or red curly hair, and a tattoo on her chest/breast area.
