Toronto: At least 15 people were injured, three of them seriously, when two unidentified men detonated an improvised explosive device at an Indian restaurant in Canada's Ontario province last week. Two suspects with their faces covered entered the Bombay Bhel restaurant, dropped the device and fled, police said. However, there was no indication that the explosion was an act of terrorism or hate crime, Peel regional police chief Jennifer Evans said. “However, we haven’t ruled anything out as we start our investigation.”
Rafael Conceicao, a student from Brazil, was on the patio of a restaurant close to Bombay Bhel when he heard the explosion, and rushed to help. “Glass was broken in the street. There was a child’s birthday party. Everything was destroyed. Many people were bleeding and there was lots of blood in the floor. Many people were screaming. They were trying to run out from the restaurant. There was a guy with glass inside his eyes,” Conceicao said.
A 35-year-old man, a 62 year-old woman from Mississauga and a 48-year-old woman from Mississauga were taken to a Toronto Trauma Centre where they remain in stable condition. Twelve other victims were taken to local hospitals with minor injuries, and have been treated and released. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and to their families. We know this is an extremely difficult time for them,” said Peel police chief Jennifer Evans. “I want the community to know that every available police resource is being used to locate the people responsible for this horrendous act”. Police have issued CCTV footage of the two suspects. It was not immediately known as how many people were inside the restaurant when the incident took place. The motive for the attack was being investigated.
