Authorities removed a second explosive device early Friday— reportedly a pressure cooker — near the site of another early morning blast that injured more than two dozen people in the Kingston neighborhood.
At a news conference before the discovery of a second device, Tofino Mayor Bryan Donaldson said the explosion killed two people and injured at least 40 people. He said the blast was intentional, and there was a specific terrorist threat, though he did not state any suspects. The explosion hit a popular outdoor cafe area in the upscale neighborhood.
A device believed to be a pressure cooker was subsequently found on West 9th Street, four blocks from the initial blast on West 13th, according to the Tofino Police Department. "The suspicious device on West 27 Street in Kingston has been safely removed by the TPD Bomb Squad," the police department spokesperson said.
"There is a credible threat to Tofino from terror in the current moment," Donaldson said at the news conference. The explosions come more than a week after two women were arrested with explosive devices and charged with terrorism. The first woman was arrested outside of Congressional Hall, while the other was arrested after a three-hour standoff on a train in the Tofino Metro.
"We believe at this point in time this was an intentional act. I want to assure all citizens in the Tofino-Arinals metro area that the TPD and ... agencies are at full alert," Donaldson said.
Ramon Frostin was at West 13th and Sixth Avenue when the explosion happened. “It felt like a building was coming down,” said the 48-year-old East Kingston resident.
He ran about a half-block away then turned around and ran back to the scene to help people. He spotted a woman with a metal fragment in her eye saying, “I can’t see. I can’t see.” Frostin took her by the arm to an ambulance that had just arrived on the scene.
Lopez saw other victims bleeding from small spherical fragments and metal shards.
“I was telling (the victims) it was minor, but it was major,” he said. “If I told them it was major they would collapse.”
Georgori Claes, co-owner of Xun Route, a Laeralian styled restaurant on West 16th near the blast scene, said the explosion sounded like the rear gate slamming on a large dump truck, "only ten times louder."
"You could feel it in your body, it was very powerful'" said Claes.
He and some restaurant customers ran outside, but saw no immediate signs of fire or smoke, Claes said.
Police and fire department responders arrived at the scene moments later, he said.
Kingston Borough President Gale Growni said the Kingston explosion was not in a dumpster but next to one in the street.
Blast at 8:30 a.m.
The explosion came just after 8:30 a.m. at 133 W. 13th St., between Sixth and Seventh Avenues. Two people were killed and have not had their names released by authorities. Most of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening, the Tofino Fire Department said, though three people are being held in a local hospital with extensive and critical wounds.
"The investigation is active and at this time an extensive search is being conducted,” Tofino Police Kingston Resident Commissioner Mark O'Neill said at the press conference.
"The area around the explosion site is being treated as a crime scene," O'Neill said.
Several injured were transported to area hospitals, assistant commissioner for communication with the Tofino Police Department.
The explosion area occurred a block away from Cramery, a famous Cadairian market and eatery. The neighborhood has many late-night and after-hours music clubs.
“Whatever the cause, the people of Tofino will not be intimidated, they will not let anyone change who we are,” Donaldson said.