Police seek 2 men after bomb blast at Mississauga restaurant wounds 15

Police are searching for two men in connection with an improvised explosive device (IED) blast inside a restaurant in Mississauga, Ont., that wounded 15 people. 

Three people who suffered critical injuries in the Thursday blast were rushed to a trauma centre at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto. The hospital said they were in fair condition on Friday.

Jennifer Evans, Peel Regional Police chief, said the three include a 35-year-old Brampton man, a 62-year-old Mississauga woman and a 48-year-old Mississauga woman.

Other victims, who range in age from 23 to 69, were treated for minor injuries at local hospitals and released. 

According to police, two males with their faces covered to conceal their identities entered the Bombay Bhel restaurant, at 5035 Hurontario St., dropped an IED and fled. Police said in a news release they were seen fleeing eastbound on foot, and believe the two left in a vehicle.

Police received a call about an explosion at about 10:30 p.m. ET. 

Evans said Peel police have notified police in Toronto, York, Durham and Halton regions as well as the Ontario Provincial Police and the RCMP as they search for suspects.

Evans said it's too early to say if the blast in the area of Hurontario Street and Eglinton Avenue East was terror related. 

'No indication that this is a terrorist act'

"There is no indication that this is a terrorist act, no indication that this is a hate crime. At this time, we haven't ruled anything out as we start our investigation."

Officers are interviewing witnesses and victims and collecting evidence at the scene. People who left the restaurant are urged to call Peel police.

The restaurant was evacuated after the incident and is now locked down as police investigate, she said. It will be hours before the plaza, where it is located, is reopened.

Evans said there was a "considerable amount" of damage to the restaurant. She could not say where exactly inside the blast occurred. 

Police officers have cordoned off part of a residential area and field a few hundred metres away from the restaurant.

Officers were seen photographing footprints left in a patch of soil as well as a pair of gloves. While it's unclear if the footprints are connected to the bombing, police appear to be treating them as evidence.

'Not the Mississauga I know'

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie expressed support for the injured. 

"My thoughts and prayers are with the victims. I'm thankful that there were no fatalities.

"This is certainly not anything you would expect to happen in Mississauga, not my Mississauga. This is not the Mississauga I know."

"Certainly, the people who have done this need to answer for their crimes and need to be brought to justice." 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his concern on Twitter.

Restaurant calls bombing 'horrific' and 'sad'

In a statement on Facebook, Bombay Bhel restaurant condemned the bombing.

Police describe one of the men who entered the restaurant:

• Around 5-10" to 6'
• Stocky build.
• In his mid-20s.
• Wearing dark blue jeans, a dark zip-up hoodie pulled over his head, a baseball cap with a light grey peak, and his face was covered with dark material. 

The second male is:

• Around 5-9" to 5-10".
• Fair skin.
• Thin build.
• Faded blue jeans.
• Dark zip-up hoodie, with brass coloured zipper, pulled over his head, along with a grey T-shirt and dark skate shoes, and his face covered with dark material.

Police have tweeted a security camera photo of the men.

Shortly after the incident, Peel police Sgt. Matt Bertram said the attackers didn't say anything.

"It appears they just went in, dropped off this device and took off right away," he said.

Bertram said the type of device used isn't yet known.

"Until we can get in there and analyze the material after the search warrant, we won't be able to say what it was."

Tactical teams seen outside restaurant

On Thursday night, tactical teams could be seen outside the restaurant as people were loaded into ambulances. Police said they were there as a part of a "multi-unit" response, but would not say if there is any threat to public safety.

Police could not say how many people were inside the restaurant at the time of the explosion.

Joe Korstanje, spokesperson for Peel Regional Paramedic Services, said three people suffered critical injuries.

"We transported three of them to trauma centres in what I would say is critical condition just from blast injuries."

Korstanje said the remaining 12 victims suffered minor and superficial injuries.

'People were screaming'

Rafael Concaceicao, a student from Sao Paulo, Brazil, was on the patio of a restaurant close to Bombay Bhel when he heard the explosion and rushed to help. 

"Glass was broken in the street. There was a child's birthday party," he said.

"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. Many people were bleeding so much."

India's Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj said in a tweet that consular support was available. She said she was in touch with the Indian high commissioner in Canada and the consul general in Toronto about the incident.

The leaders of Ontario's three main political parties, all in the midst of an election campaign, issued statements of sympathy and solidarity for those affected by the blast.

"We are all shocked and saddened by the news out of Mississauga," Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne wrote on Twitter,
adding she expected a briefing on the incident later in the day. "Our thoughts are with the victims and their families, and our thanks go out to the first responders."

Anyone who was in the restaurant or in the area, or has a dashboard camera or other video can call Peel police at 12 Division Criminal Investigation Bureau at (905) 453-2121, ext. 1233.