Fake Suicide Vest or Defective Suicide Vest, Canadian Muslim Shot After Threats

Toronto Sun:

Hours after the horrific terror attacks in Paris, a stand-off unfolded between police officers and a suspected suicide bomber in a Mississauga neighbourhood, the Toronto Sun has learned.

French officials were still counting their dead when Peel Regional Police officers ended a frightening confrontation by opening fire on the 26-year-old man at Golden Orchard Dr. and Grand Forks Rd. — near Bloor St. and Dixie Rd. — shortly after 2 a.m. Saturday.

In the aftermath of the shooting, police downplayed the incident saying only that the call involved “an emotionally disturbed person.”

But the presence of the service’s Explosive Disposal Unit and heavily armed Tactical officers at the scene suggested a far more serious threat was afoot.

A source, who asked not to be named, revealed to Sun on Monday that the bomb squad responded because the man in question was wearing what appeared to be a suicide vest and holding what looked like a triggering device.

It was not immediately known if the vest actually contained explosives.

But suicide bombers and gunmen killed 129 victims in Paris less than eight hours earlier. So police, who were on heightened alert, took the threat seriously.

Uniformed officers shot the suspected suicide bomber four times, the source said.

Fortunately, the shooting was not followed by an explosion.

The man, whose nationality was not immediately clear, was rushed to the trauma centre at St. Mike’s hospital in Toronto. He is expected to survive.

Another source said investigators have since determined the vest was not real.

Officially, police are not commenting because Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit is probing the shooting. The SIU has been tight-lipped about the incident.

“I can tell you that investigators are working to determine the circumstances leading to the shooting as well as particulars of the incident,” SIU spokesman Jason Gennaro said. “At this point, the investigation is ongoing and I’m unable to confirm details or comment further.”

He said the shooting victim remains in hospital.