Posted on 04/02/2006 2:40:33 PM PDT by Dane
One man dead in suspected bomb explosion at Toronto Tim Hortons
Lauren La Rose, Canadian Press Published: Sunday, April 02, 2006
TORONTO (CP) - The heart of Toronto's trendy Yorkville shopping district was shocked to a standstill Sunday after an explosion killed one man at a Tim Horton's outlet.
Police would not confirm early reports that a man had entered the washroom shortly before the blast with explosives strapped to his body.
Police Insp. Nick Memme confirmed that an explosion occured 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 Tim Hortons 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," said Almeida.
A Tim Hortons spokesman confirmed the dead man was not an employee, but his identity was not immediately known.
Fire crews responding to the scene said there was still smoke in the air of the coffee shop when they arrived at around 1 p.m. after a 911 call.
"We weren't witness to an explosion and there was a very small amount of smoke upon our arrival," said fire department spokesman Daryl Fuglerud.
"It doesn't appear that we could see much of a fire."
Workers attempted to revive one man, but were unable to save him. Fuglerud said the man had burns to his body.
"We tried to work on him," he said.
The man's body remained inside the coffee shop hours after the blast while authorities cordoned off a block of busy Yonge Street and evacuated the area.
Gawkers had crowded on the sunny sidewalk along the yellow police tape and watched as a robotic bomb disposal unit was unloaded and sent into the building.
The cause of the blast remains uncertain.
"When the police say it's a safe scene, the fire marshal will be taking it over," said Fuglerud.
Several hours after the explosion, a crowd of employees were escorted away from the scene together with Tim Hortons District Manager Amin Islam. They appeared shaken, and some attempted to shield their faces from the throng of television cameras. They refused questions, but Islam said they were doing well.
"I'm just making sure they're going home safely," he said.
He said he learned of the incident on the radio and immediately rushed to the scene to see what he could do.
Don't like the looks of that at all. A "work accident" in North America?
Isn't Toronto a haven for terrorists?
Even money his name is Mohammed.
Improper mixture, improper containment or, the detonator went off but not the main charge or some combination of the above.
why would a suicide bomber detonate inside a bathroom, rather then in an open area where people were?
L
A lot of the Toronto-area FReepers said that they were not surprised that SARS cases were in Toronto first because it was becoming very third-worldish.
Your bad...
But I like it.
He probably went into the bathroom for one last check to make sure everything was wired correctly and accidentally set it off. That's my guess.
Another bad day for the apologists at CAIR.
Another one? There was just a thread about one sooside bummer in Toronto.
ROFL.
The MSM will no bend over backwards (or is that frontwards in canada), in order to not have this be a Islam Homicide Attack.
That's my guess too, or he had a change of heart and tried to peel off the bomb...OH WELL, them the breaks!
(........my guess is as good as anyone else's).
Another poor victem of the evil west decides to blow himself up and take who he can with him. Gotta love TROP, the sick freaks.
Probably went in for his final smoke, farted in the can, and threw a lit match in.
Why would you go to the trouble of strapping yourself with explosives just to take out a men's room? Extreme animosity towards urinals, or what?
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