Members of a bomb unit enter a law firm as they investigate an explosion in Winnipeg on Friday, July 3, 2015. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Trevor Hagan)
Maria Mitousis (TWITTER)
A 49-year-old man has been arrested as a suspect in the bombing at a Winnipeg law office on Friday that severely injured a lawyer.
Maria Mitousis, 38, lost a hand and suffered severe injuries to her face and chest when a bomb went off when she opened a suspicious package.
Mitousis was working at the Petersen King law offices on River Avenue when she was injured at around 10:15 a.m. She has since been upgraded from critical condition to stable in a city hospital.
Winnipeg police continued with their investigation and discovered another suspicious package at a business in the 500 block of Washington Avenue on Saturday afternoon. The bomb unit responded and detonated a package containing an unknown material. No one was injured, but police say significant damage was caused to the business in the process.
Police believe the two incidents are related and took a man into custody on Saturday night. He hasn’t been charged and interviews are going.
Police and the bomb unit are currently on scene at two locations executing search warrants. Officers are at a business on Springfield Road and a business on Pandora Avenue. According to a news release, police say they aren’t aware of any explosives at these locations, but are exercising caution.
Some residents in the two areas have been evacuated and traffic is restricted as police continue to investigate.
Late Sunday, police had the law offices of Orle Bargen Davidson at 280 Stradbrook Avenue taped off as the bomb unit worked to secure a suspicious package.
A loud bang could be heard as the package was safely detonated at around 9:40 p.m.
No further details were immediately available as to whether the Stradbrook investigation was related to Friday’s blast on River Avenue.
A Police bomb squad robot crosses Stradbrook street in front of a law office that is currently being investigated. pic.twitter.com/hSQHedfWj7
— Greg Gallinger (@GregGallinger) July 6, 2015
Updated at 10:05 p.m.
