Toronto police are accusing the owner of a drug paraphernalia shop of releasing a noxious gas inside a Queen Street building that forced the evacuation of a dance studio and injured several people.
Toronto police said the owner of Earth and Fire, located on the second floor of 489 Queen Street West, near Spadina Avenue, exited the store at about 9:30 p.m. and sprayed a can of pepper spray into the hallway and stairwell it shared with a third-floor dance studio.
The suspect was then seen leaving the building, police allege.
Between 40 and 50 dance studio customers and staff members were forced to evacuate the premises after suffering irritation caused by the pepper spray.
Police, ambulances and fire crews rushed to the scene and several people were treated for their injuries at the scene.
Adam Chaplin, 32, was arrested at his home a short time later and charged with:
- Administering Noxious Thing
- Deposit Offensive Volatile Substance
- Common Nuisance
- Mischief Interfere With Property
- Weapons Dangerous
- Possession of a Prohibited Weapon
- Possession of Weapon Contrary to Prohibition Order
Chaplin is expected to appear at a bail hearing in a Toronto court on Thursday morning.
