This Canadian theatre was first targeted on September 25 at around 5:20 am. As per the updates from Halton police, two suspects carrying red gas cans “used a flammable liquid to ignite a fire at the exterior entrance doors of the theatre.”
A movie theatre in Canada’s Ontario province has halted screening of Indian films after it became the target of arson and shooting attacks on two separate occasions in the past week. The authorities at Film.ca Cinemas in Oakville linked the attacks to theatre screening of South Asian films and withdrew the screenings of Rishab Shetty’s Kantara: A Legend Chapter 1 and Pawan Kalyan’s They Call Him OG from the theatre.
Theatre was first targeted on Sept 25
This theatre was first targeted on September 25 at around 5:20 am. As per the updates from Halton police, two suspects carrying red gas cans “used a flammable liquid to ignite a fire at the exterior entrance doors of the theatre.”
Police said the fire remained contained to the exterior of the property, with the theatre sustaining moderate damage.
CCTV video shows grey SUV arriving at 2 am
A CCTV video shared by Film.ca showed a grey SUV arriving at around 2 am and it showed a person wearing a hoodie appears to recce the theatre entrance before driving away. The same SUV returned to the parking lot twice again. The video showed two individuals arriving at the doors of the theatre and starting to pour liquid out of red jerrycans.
Another incident reported at theatre’s entrance doors
The second incident was reported when a single suspect fired multiple gunshots through the theatre’s entrance doors. The suspect was described by police as a male with dark skin, a heavy build, wearing all black clothing and a black face mask. The attack this time happened while the cinema was closed and no injuries were reported.
Halton Regional Police stated that both incidents were targeted and are being actively investigated. Police also released descriptions of the suspects and details from security camera footage to encourage public assistance in the case.
After such series of attacks, Film.ca Cinemas CEO Jeff Knoll addressed the connection to the theatreโs programming and he said, โThe other day, somebody tried to burn the theatre down in a dispute with respect to us playing South Asian films.”