Toronto (INS): Movie theaters screening Hindi films at three different locations in Canada had to be evacuated after an “unknown substance” was sprayed at the locations, causing hundreds of attendees to suffer from coughing fits.
Police said Wednesday that the incidents occurred Tuesday night at multiplexes in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), which includes Toronto, Vaughan and Brampton.
York Regional Police said, “Investigators are aware that two similar incidents occurred at other theaters on the same evening, one in Brampton and one in Toronto. “Our investigators are liaising with our neighboring police partners regarding those incidents.”
One of these incidents occurred in Vaughan at around 9.20 pm. On Tuesday, emergency services were mobilized and about 200 people were evacuated from the theater after they started coughing.
York Regional Police investigators learned that two male suspects wearing masks and hoods entered the theater after the movie “an Indian Hindi language film” began.
They then walked around and sprayed an unknown, aerosol-based, irritant substance into the air, and fled before the police arrived.
Police said several patrons were treated for exposure to an unknown substance and no serious injuries were reported.
Releasing a description of the first suspect, police said he was a black man with fair complexion, approximately five feet, ten inches tall and of medium build.
He was wearing a black sweater, a black jacket with a white logo, dark pants with a white stripe, and a black cap with a white logo on the front, along with a black medical mask.
Police said the second suspect is a brown man with fair skin, about five feet eight inches tall and a medium build.
He wore a black sweater with a red logo over white text on the front, dark pants, brown shoes, and a black mask.
According to Peel Regional Police, officers were called to a movie theater near Great Lakes Drive and Bovaird Drive in Brampton around 7:40 p.m. the same day for reports that a substance had been sprayed inside.
Although the building was evacuated and no arrests were made, investigators are reviewing video surveillance to determine exactly what happened.
According to Global News, a woman watching an Indian film inside this theater said that she left the theater feeling unwell after something was sprayed inside.
She said she went outside and coughed for “five to six minutes”. “I hope everyone is safe,” he told the news outlet.
Toronto Police also received a call at around 10.30 pm. About a possible “stink bomb” being released at a theater in Scarborough town centre.
Police said the theater was evacuated and no injuries were reported.
Investigators believe there were several witnesses present who may be able to assist in the investigation as the GTA has many commercial and entertainment businesses and is well traveled by pedestrian and vehicle traffic.