No terrorism in deadly Toronto doughnut shop explosion: police
Last Updated Sun, 02 Apr 2006 22:39:25 EDT
CBC News
Police have ruled out terrorism as the cause of an explosion at a Tim Hortons doughnut shop in a trendy downtown area of Toronto on Sunday, killing one man.
The victim was likely an arsonist or attempting suicide, Staff Sgt. Don Cole of Toronto police told reporters hours after the explosion.
Emergency officials walk outside the Tim Hortons in Toronto where an explosion killed a man on Sunday.
"He's not a strap-on al-Qaeda bomber guy," Cole said. "It sounds to me like a guy who either wanted to do a torch job or commit suicide."
Police said the man apparently carried a can of gasoline into a washroom stall about 1 p.m. local time at the doughtnut shop in the city's Yorkville area, and set off a flash fire that killed him.
The victim was an unidentified male who was pronounced dead at the scene with severe burns to his body. Nobody else was injured.
A Tim Hortons spokesman later confirmed the victim was not an employee.
Explosion triggered flash fire: police
Police Chief Bill Blair earlier described the incident as a flash fire rather than a bombing. Two blocks in the downtown area were cordoned off as police investigated.
"It appears that there has been a very hot and intense fire in an enclosed area within the washroom," Blair said. But he declined to speculate on the cause of the fire.
"Until we determine precisely what happened in that cubicle and what caused those flames that took that man's life, I really can't speculate," he said.
Police could not confirm reports the man was seen entering the washroom with wires or possibly explosives strapped to his body.
The ceiling fell down on the victim, bringing down wires and batteries from an air-freshening device that might have contributed to suspicions of a bomb, Cole said.
After the incident, a police robot was used to remove a duffel bag from the doughnut shop, which is on Yonge Street just north of the intersection with Bloor Street. Explosives experts detonated the bag with a loud bang.
Toronto police Chief Bill Blair answers reporters' questions outside the doughnut shop Sunday. (Patrick Morell/CBC photo)
Police also evacuated a second Tim Hortons a few kilometres north and detonated a suspicious package. It contained a clock in a shopping bag.
Eunice Almeida, 23, a regular patron of the coffee outlet, told the Canadian Press that a shock wave went through the restaurant.
"There was an explosion in the men's washroom, then there was a stampede and everybody ran out," Almeida said.
Eyewitness Jenny Phillips told Reuters that she heard bangs like pops from a firecracker and a scream "that will haunt me forever" as she left the washroom area.
She smelled burnt powder and saw a "wall of flames" inside the men's washroom before staff herded the two dozen customers outside.
"I thought the roof was caving in," she said. "People were screaming."
A police robot removes a suspicious parcel from the shop in the aftermath of the explosion.
Blast rattles shop workers
Employees who appeared shaken were escorted from the scene, and some attempted to shield their faces from the throng of television cameras.
They refused to answer questions, but Tim Hortons district manager Amin Islam said they were doing well. "I'm just making sure they're going home safely," he said.
Daryl Fuglerud, a spokesman with Toronto's fire department, told reporters the man who died had burns to his body.
"It doesn't appear that there was much of a fire at all," Fuglerud said. "There was a very small amount of smoke upon our arrival."
Fuglerud said the investigation was turned over to police because it was a "possible criminal" case.
SOURCE:
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/natio...2.html?ref=rss