Explosion at Tim Horton's (Updated)

Apr. 2 - 13:36 - This just in: Reports say one person dead in explosion in downtown Toronto Sunday at a Tim Horton's Donut Shop in Yorkville near Bloor and Yonge.

Live coverage says they still don't know what happened and unconfirmed reports say that the explosion happened in the washroom.

I'm trying not to speculate - and failing - because my mind inevitably flashes to one possible scenario.

14:39 - A police spokesman just confirmed the explosion happened somewhere near the back of the shop.

15:04 - The victim was male, and there was some sign of burns on the body.

15:34 - CP 24 just reported a witness who claims a man walked into the restroom wearing explosives. It's a beautiful day so no one is wearing winter coats (most of us are tempting the fates by wearing no coats) but even so I'd put a caution on the explosives theory just yet.

But, since it's been broached, my first thought was that someone was adjusting his explosives before boarding the subway. But I have a pretty active imagination.

15:45 - CNews seems to be updating its reports fairly regularly and they repeat the unconfirmed report from radio station AM-640 that someone wearing explosives entered the washroom shortly before the blast. That is downright bizarre; I should think an intentional bomber would at minimum attempt to conceal the explosives and pick a more populated area than a washroom or the back of a coffee shop.

It is possible that nerves are a bit jittery after the arrests of several terror suspects recently in the Toronto area and some recognize that there could be an attack for both revenge purposes and to serve as a deterrent to further arrests, or even in response to the recent offensive in Afghanistan which involves Canadian troops.

Both CBC Newsworld and CTV Newsnet are only reporting official police and fire department statements and, for Toronto area people, CP 24 has the best live coverage thus far, but it's unlikely any new information will be released soon.

16:47 - It has been confirmed that the dead man was not an employee.

I'm lazily just copying the portion of a post in progress which has news links to recent arrests (remember that an arrest is not the same as a conviction, okay?)

Truth is, I've lost track of the the growing number of Canadian terrorists that have been arrested, killed abroad, or for whom arrest warrants have been issued and far too many of which lived in the Toronto area. (Updates on Mustafa, or Murtaza, here and here.)

And then there's everyone's favourite terrorist family, the Khadr's. Omar Khadr, dubbed the "Toronto Teen" by the Star, is scheduled to face another hearing at Guantanamo and his brother Abdullah has been accused by the U.S. of supplying al-Qaida with weapons and explosives.

I've including this more to explain why so many of us are trying so damned hard not to jump to conclusions; the Jabarah brothers come to mind as well.

I'm going out because (a) it's a beautiful day and (b) the speculation and suspense is killing me. I may counsel patience but find it hard to follow my own advice.

Newsbeat1 is staying on top of this and will likely catch new developments as soon as they break.

Apr. 3 - Police have ruled out terrorism. Update here.

Posted by: Debbye at 01:36 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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