Police in Mississauga, Ont., are expected to provide more information today on an investigation into a blast at a popular Indian restaurant last Thursday set off when two men who planted an improvised explosive device and then fled the scene.
Peel Regional Police are holding an 11 a.m. ET news conference about the restaurant bombing. You can watch the news conference in the video above.
Investigators are still searching for the two suspects, captured on surveillance footage and believed to have escaped on foot before getting into an unidentified vehicle. A motive is not yet known.
Peel Regional Police were called to the Bombay Bhel restaurant at 5035 Hurontario St. at approximately 10:30 p.m. Thursday about reports of an explosion and multiple injuries. Approximately 40 people were inside at the time, including a number of children under the age of 10.
In all, 15 people were injured — three of whom suffered "critical blast injuries," according to paramedics. All have since been released from hospital. The restaurant itself sustained a "considerable amount of damage," Peel police Chief Jennifer Evans said.
On Monday, police said they had completed their work at the restaurant, which remains closed until further notice. Three other locations remain open, reads a statement on the Bombay Bhel website.
"Words cannot express how our hearts go out to those families," says the statement, before commending the first responders who attended to the 911 call.
"The outpouring of love and solidarity, not only from Mississauga and the GTA, but from all over the world has been overwhelming."
Witness describes blast scene
On Thursday night, the busy shopping plaza where the restaurant was located became a crime scene.
Rafael Conceicao, a student from Sao Paulo, Brazil, was on the patio of a restaurant close to the Bombay Bhel when he heard the explosion and rushed to help.
"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."
Evans has said there is no indication that the explosion was a terrorist act or a hate crime. Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said last week there appeared to be no "nexus to national security" connected to the incident, but that investigators have not yet ruled anything out.
Police are expected to answer questions from reporters and appeal for witnesses as part of Tuesday morning's news conference.