TORONTO: Moviegoers in three Greater Toronto Area regions in Canada were evacuated and some were treated for exposure to an unknown substance sprayed by masked men in theatres playing Hindi movies earlier this week, according to police and media reports.
One such incident happened around 9.20pm Tuesday at a cinema complex in Vaughan, York Regional Police said in a statement on Wednesday.
Numerous moviegoers started coughing after two men in masks and hoods sprayed an “unknown, aerosol-based, irritating substance into the air” in a theatre, police said.
Around 200 people were inside when a Hindi film was playing at the time, said police.
Several people were treated for exposure to the substance and the theatre had to be evacuated, police said. No serious injuries were reported.
The suspects fled before police arrived. Police said the first suspect was a Black man with a light skin tone while the second man was described as brown with a light skin tone.
York Police said they were liaising with both Peel and Toronto police about similar incidents, CBC News reported.
“Coincidentally, they took place all within less than three hours on the same evening,” a York Police officer said. “So we are certainly looking into the possibility these incidents are linked.”
Peel Police confirmed officers were called to a theatre in Brampton on Tuesday following reports of a substance sprayed on the premises.
Toronto Police said officers similarly got a call Tuesday night about someone setting off a “stink bomb” in a theatre at Scarborough Town Centre.
One such incident happened around 9.20pm Tuesday at a cinema complex in Vaughan, York Regional Police said in a statement on Wednesday.
Numerous moviegoers started coughing after two men in masks and hoods sprayed an “unknown, aerosol-based, irritating substance into the air” in a theatre, police said.
Around 200 people were inside when a Hindi film was playing at the time, said police.
Several people were treated for exposure to the substance and the theatre had to be evacuated, police said. No serious injuries were reported.
The suspects fled before police arrived. Police said the first suspect was a Black man with a light skin tone while the second man was described as brown with a light skin tone.
York Police said they were liaising with both Peel and Toronto police about similar incidents, CBC News reported.
“Coincidentally, they took place all within less than three hours on the same evening,” a York Police officer said. “So we are certainly looking into the possibility these incidents are linked.”
Peel Police confirmed officers were called to a theatre in Brampton on Tuesday following reports of a substance sprayed on the premises.
Toronto Police said officers similarly got a call Tuesday night about someone setting off a “stink bomb” in a theatre at Scarborough Town Centre.