A man is in police custody after he allegedly torched a car and vandalised another during an early-morning incident in New Amsterdam on Saturday. The incident occurred at about 04:00h in the vicinity of Stanleytown, Strand, New Amsterdam, where one of the vehicles was parked in front of its owner’s yard. The car was reportedly set alight and was extensively damaged by the blaze. The same man is also accused of damaging a second vehicle during the incident, smashing a front side window and the windscreen. The driver of that vehicle managed to move it a short distance away from the scene following the attack.

There was extensive damage to the windscreen, particularly on the driver’s side, as well as damage to the side window. Shane Lindie, the owner estimates the damage to his vehicle at approximately $150,000. Police were summoned to the scene, while members of the New Amsterdam Fire Service also responded to the vehicle fire. Shortly afterwards, police officers and firefighters went to a property at 42 Stanleytown, where the suspect was reportedly spotted on the roof of an unoccupied building.

He was subsequently arrested by police. It was not immediately clear what prompted the attacks on the two vehicles or whether the suspect had any prior connection to their owners. The man remained in police custody up to press time as investigators continued their probe into the circumstances surrounding the early-morning incident.