One day after a bomb went off inside the law offices of Petersen King, the River Avenue building remained behind police tape and 38-year-old Maria Mitousis, injured in the attack, remains in hospital with serious, life-altering injuries.
"She's currently in hospital. I don't have a current condition,” said Const. Eric Hofley of the Winnipeg Police Service. “She did suffer a serious injury and was transported critical at the time."
Friends have set up a GoFundMe page for the family lawyer, hoping to rally support from Manitoba’s legal community.
“Maria Mitousis: colleague, friend, great lawyer, wonderful person. Having sustained very serious injuries in a bombing attack, Maria will require financial support as she recovers from this horrific event,” reads part of the page’s description.
Within hours people had already pledged thousands towards the goal of $50,000.
Winnipeg police can’t say for certain if the victim was intended target of the explosive device but say they'll be looking at all aspects of her life, including personal and professional relationships, as part of their investigation.
"Members of our major crimes unit are continuing with the investigation and asking anyone who may have information to contact them,” said Const. Hofley. “And at this point, they're considering it a one-off, they don't believe this is a continuing threat to the general public."
Word of the bombing spread quickly through Winnipeg and staff at a downtown firm where Mitousis previously worked called police and evacuated the building.
Police found nothing suspicious.
Late in the afternoon, the bomb squad also opened a suspicious package outside the Workers Compensation Board which also turned out to be harmless.
Finally, overnight a third unfounded suspicious package was investigated in the city’s Osborne Village neighbourhood.
Police have not linked those incidents with the law firm bombing.
