Mississauga Bombing

On the night of May 24th, 2018, Bombay Bhel, a popular Indian restaurant in the Mississauga area, was targeted by a bomb blast, injuring 15 people. Police say the explosive device was planted by two suspects who were in and out quickly around 10:30PM during the night in question. The device had contained nails, suggesting the spread of impact and potential impalement of the nails.
Witnesses described the blast scene as gruesome. After the deafening explosion, Rafael Conceicao, an international student from Brazil, commented on the scene, mentioning that, “everything was destroyed. Lots of blood in the floor. Many people were screaming. They were trying to run out from the restaurant. There was a guy with glass inside his eyes.” Police had quickly closed off the entire area and deployed a tactical team, and one officer was described to call for a drone, according to witness Jess Dalessandro, who was parked in the lot, and wasn’t allowed to move her truck out of the lot on Friday morning.
Two pieces of footage were released, showing the suspects fleeing from the scene. One was potentially a female suspect, but no further identifications were made. No clear motive was indicated for the attack as far as police know. It is not known or suspected to be some sort of terrorist attack or targeted bombing. There was no claimed responsibility by any group, so nothing is known until the suspects are identified. It was suggested the attackers ran into a vehicle to escape quickly after fleeing from the restaurant, concealing their identity with dark clothes and hooded sweatshirts covering their faces. Since they haven’t been identified, no charges have been placed, but it would include attempted murder if they are to be caught. Fingerprints and DNA have been collected and sent to the province’s Centre of Forensic Science for further analysis. Most likely, more details will be provided upon investigation of these identifiers.
15 people were sent to the hospital that night. Fortunately, everyone who was injured in the attack was treated in the hospital and were all released within 24 hours according to police. However, on the downside, the restaurant itself sustained damage, and is closed until further notice (the other locations are still open). The investigation has since been closed at the restaurant, but some information still needs to be obtained, and as far as they know, the two perpetrators are still at large.
Bombay Bhel’s owners shied away from the media following the explosion as they did not want to “stand in the limelight” or be seeming to exploit the victims’ situations for their own gain. However, a statement was released by the owners on Facebook shortly after, condemning the attack, and saying “how relieved we are that all 15 people … have been released from the hospital … We have been serving our customers for over 30 years and will do so for another 30 years.”