Firebombings linked to biker turf wars

Two weekend firebombings are being linked to a turf war between outlaw motorcycle gangs in Winnipeg, police say.

In separate incidents, a St. Vital automotive repair shop was firebombed early Sunday along with a West Kildonan home later the same day. Police are linking the two events and attributing them to an ongoing battle between rival gangs: the Rock Machine and Hells Angels.

"The incidents on St. Mary's Road and on Royal Avenue are connected and are part of the current conflict between rival groups," a police spokesman said.

Svenn Tergesen, the owner of DC Automotive on St. Mary's Road, told CBC News that although he knows members of both bike gangs, he denies any involvement in the biker lifestyle and says he is an innocent victim.

It was just after midnight Sunday morning when someone broke the window of his business and apparently tossed an incendiary device inside the shop and automotive bays.

Later on Sunday, a residence on Royal Avenue in West Kildonan also was targeted.

Neighbours say men dressed in black wearing balaclavas threw something inside a kitchen window. Fire crews arrived shortly afterward and put out a small blaze.

Last week, Winnipeg Police Chief Keith McCaskill said he is concerned about the outbreak of a gang war that is being blamed for recent shootings in which two people were wounded.

In late June, a flare was shot through the window of an Elmwood home injuring one person and a Windsor Park home was struck by bullets. And on June 29, a St. Vital home was firebombed and shot at and on July 4, a 14-year-old boy was an innocent victim when shots were fired at a Taft Crescent townhouse.