There was a heavy police presence in downtown Winnipeg Friday, following an explosion at a law office in the Osborne area. RCMP bomb squad and Winnipeg police responded to three false alarms that followed.
Breakdown of the events that unfolded on Friday, July 3:
Const. Eric Hofley of the Winnipeg police said they received a report of sounds of shots and explosions at 252 River Avenue around 10:15 a.m. on Friday.
He said they cannot confirm that it was a package that exploded, but a device did go off.
Maria Mitousis, 38, was sent to hospital in critical condition. One source says Mitousis lost a hand in the blast and is in possible danger of losing the other one.
At 11:11 a.m. an employee from 444 St. Mary Ave. flagged down police in person regarding a suspicious package in the office building.
Mitousis formerly worked at Monk Goodwin, a law office situated in 444 St. Mary Ave. building. Employees inside the law office self-evacuated after police got to the scene.
The seventh, eighth and ninth floors of the building were blocked off to employees and the public while police investigated.
The RCMP bomb unit and the Winnipeg police were on scene and said whatever was believed to be suspicious, was unfounded.
At 4:30 p.m., police responded to a third report of a suspicious package, this time at the Workers Compensation Board located at 333 Broadway.
The bomb squad and bomb sniffing dogs continued in and out of the building. A cardboard box was located and opened. The box was cleared and the area was deemed safe.
Later that night, at 10:20 p.m. bomb squad members attended to the 200 block of Osborne Street due to reports of another suspicious package.
The area was cleared and deemed safe after an investigation that lasted till 2 a.m. on Saturday.
On Saturday, Const. Hofley said the investigation is ongoing. No one has been arrested.
He said they believe the explosion incident is isolated and cannot confirm how the device got there or where it came from. Investigators said it is not being considered as a threat to the general public.
The investigation is continuing by members of the major crimes unit. Anyone with information regarding this matter or the identity of the suspect(s) is asked to contact investigators at (204) 986-6219 or Crime Stoppers at (204) 786-TIPS (8477).