Canada police release photos of 'masked' suspects after 3 theatres showing 'Animal' attacked in Toronto and Brampton

Chandigarh, December 8

Two men wearing masks and hoods entered a theatre in Canada soon after movie ‘Animal’ started playing at a theatre.

Then they walked around and sprayed an unknown, aerosol-based, irritating substance into the air, and fled before the police arrived.

Investigators at the York Regional Police on Thursday night released new photos of suspects from Vaughan cinema on the evening of December 5. Investigators have learned of similar incidents at other locations in Toronto and Brampton that same evening.

The halls had to be evacuated after “unknown substance” was sprayed in the venues, causing hundreds of attendees to suffer from coughing fits.

Police said on Wednesday that the incidents occurred on Tuesday night at multiplexes in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), comprising Toronto, Vaughan and Brampton.

“Investigators are aware that there were two similar incidents at other movie theatres that same evening, with one in Brampton and one in Toronto. Our investigators are liaising with our neighbouring police partners about those incidents,” the York Regional Police said.

In one of these incidents, which happened in Vaughan at around 9.20 pm on Tuesday, emergency services were pressed in and roughly 200 people from the theatre were evacuated after they began coughing.

Police said several patrons were treated for exposure to the unknown substance and no serious injuries were reported.

Releasing the description of the first suspect, police said he was a Black man with a light skin tone, standing around five feet, 10 inches tall and with a medium build.

He was wearing a black sweater, a black jacket with a white logo, dark pants with a white stripe and a black toque with a white logo on the front, alongside a black medical mask.

Police said the second suspect is a brown man with a light skin tone, standing about five feet, eight inches tall and with a medium build.

He wore a black sweater with a red logo above white text on the front, with dark pants, brown boots and a black mask.

According to the Peel Regional Police, officers were called to a movie theatre near Great Lakes Drive and Bovaird Drive in Brampton around 7.40 pm on the same day for reports that a substance was sprayed inside.

While the building was evacuated no arrests were made.

Toronto police also received a call around 10.30 pm about a possible “stink bomb” being released in a theatre at Scarborough Town Centre.

Police said the theatre was evacuated and no injuries were reported. With IANS inputs