Investigation into house explosion leads to discovery of criminal act, RPS asking for assistance

The aftermath of a major explosion in Regina's North Central neighbourhood on Nov. 13, 2022. (Brianne Foley/CTV News)

The Regina Police Service (RPS) is asking the public for information or video that could assist in the investigation into a building explosion in the north central area on Nov. 13.

Around 10:40 a.m., police were called to the area of 6th Avenue and Retallack Street for a report of a building explosion at 1202 Retallack St. Officers blocked off traffic and began to investigate whether the explosion was criminal.

Through investigation, police determined a gas line in the building had been compromised on Nov. 13 sometime between the hours of 5 a.m. and 7 a.m., according to a release from RPS.

Det. Cst. Mark Oliver said police were able to determine the time frame based on the build up of gas pressure. However, he could not say how the gas line was compromised or if it was intentional as the matter is still under investigation.

Although the explosion itself was accidental, RPS said the compromise of the gas line is a criminal act and officers are looking to find out who is responsible for that.

“We can’t really say what the charge is going to be,” Oliver said.

“We know that the property was vacant so anybody in there constitutes as a break and enter. We know that the line was compromised so that constitutes as mischief.”

RPS are asking anyone in the area who may have seen suspicious activity or have stored video in a surveillance system to contact them or Crime Stoppers.

“We know that many cameras were destroyed because of the event and most of that (video) is stored in the cloud or on a hard drive, so we’re looking for some evidence that may come forward of any suspicious activity,” Oliver said.

According to police, no serious injuries were reported due to the explosion.