Hindu News
Police say one person dead in explosion in downtown Toronto
Toronto, April. 3 (AP): The heart of Toronto's trendy shopping district was brought to a standstill after an explosion killed one man at a popular Tim Hortons coffee shop.
Police would not confirm reports that a man had entered the washroom shortly before the blast yesterday with explosives strapped to his body. Another nearby Tim Hortons was shut down later in the day when a suspicious package was found there.
Police inspector Nick Memme would only say that an explosion occurred in the washroom at the rear of the restaurant, but said few other details were immediately available.
"We're early on in the investigation, still," Memme said.
Witnesses reported hearing a loud bang; police said no one else was involved and there were no other injuries.
Eunice Almeida, 23, a regular patron of the coffee-and-donut outlet, said she spoke to employees shortly after it was evacuated. One woman told her the blast was felt as a sudden shock through the store.
"There was an explosion in the men's washroom, then there was a stampede and everybody ran out," Almeida told The Canadian Press.
A Tim Hortons spokesman confirmed the dead man was not an employee, but his identity was not immediately known.
Later yesterday, a second Tim Hortons outlet in Toronto was locked down after a suspicious package was found there. Police confirmed an emergency task force unit had been dispatched to the second location - just a few subway stations north of the first - and the area was evacuated.
Related: Suspicious package found in 2nd coffee chain in Toronto
OTTAWA, April 2 (Xinhua) -- The explosion that happened in a coffee shop in Canada's Toronto was a "possible criminal" case, local fire department said.
News from China View
Forensic investigators talk with a uniformed member of the Toronto police department outside a Tim Hortons coffee shop in downtown Toronto April 2. (Xinhua/Reuters) Daryl Fuglerud, a spokesman with Toronto's fire department, said the investigation has been turned over to police because it was a "possible criminal" case.
One man was killed in the explosion.
Fuglerud told reporters the man who died had burns to his body.But there was not much of a fire, he said.
The blast occurred in the washroom of Tim Hortons, a chain snack food store located near the intersection of Yonge and Bloor Streets,just after 1 p.m.local time, Canadian Television reported.
No other injuries were reported.
Police have cordoned off approximately one city block and evacuated the area as a precaution.
Emergency officials and an explosives disposal unit is now on the scene. Police have began investigation, but the cause of the blast is unknown yet. Enditem