Canada: Masked Men Target Theatres Playing Hindi Movies in Toronto, Police Probe Underway – News18

A police probe is underway in Canada after masked men targeted theatres playing Hindi movies in multiple Greater Toronto Area regions. In three different incidents, moviegoers were evacuated, and some received treatment for exposure to an unknown substance earlier this week, according to police reports.

In a statement, York Regional Police said one such incident happened around 9:20 p.m. on Tuesday at a cinema complex in Vaughan. Several movie-goers started coughing after two men in masks and hoods sprayed an “unknown, aerosol-based, irritating substance into the air” in a theatre, the police said.

Two masked men

Some 200 people were inside when a Hindi film was playing at the time, according to police. Several people were treated for exposure to the substance and the theatre had to be evacuated, the police said. No serious injuries were reported. The suspects however fled before the police arrived, investigators said. Police said the first suspect was a Black man with a light skin tone while the second man was described as brown with a light skin tone.

York police said they were liaising with both Peel and Toronto police about similar incidents that happened this week. “Coincidentally, they took place all within less than three hours on the same evening,” a York police officer was quoted as saying by local media. “So we are certainly looking into the possibility that these incidents are linked.” Peel police confirmed in a statement that officers were called to a theatre in Brampton on Tuesday following reports of some sort of substance sprayed on the premises. Officers evacuated the building and there were no reports of any serious injuries, it said.

So far, no arrests have been made. “It is unknown at this time if any other incidents are connected but our investigators are aware of those incidents that took place in York Region and Toronto,” the statement said. Toronto police said officers similarly got a call on Tuesday night about someone setting off a ”stink bomb” in a theatre at Scarborough Town Centre. The theatre was evacuated and no injuries were reported, police said.

On the question if the incidents were being probed as hate-motivated crimes, Sgt. Clint Whitney said the investigation was in its early stages. There is no obvious indication that this is a hate-motivated crime, but we have notified our Hate Crime Prevention Unit as a precaution and they will be involved in the investigation, he said. In a statement, Cineplex said it was working “closely with local authorities” investigating the incident. “Our primary focus and commitment is the safety and well-being of our guests and our team,” Michelle Saba, a spokesperson for Cineplex, said.

(With agency inputs)