Man charged after retail bomb scare

Peel police said the incident involved ‘disgruntled employee’

A 20-year-old Mississauga man has been charged after a bomb scare near Square One late Wednesday sent residents and employees in the area into a panic.

Peel Const. Irene Yashnyk said the incident appears to have stemmed from an argument involving a “disgruntled employee.”

The encounter occurred outside of AllStar Wings and Ribs on Confederation Parkway and Arbutus Way, less than a kilometre from Square One Shopping Centre, around 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Police said two employees in the restaurant became involved in an argument and one of them allegedly left a threatening note on a package and left.

The other employee threw it out the window and staff called 911.

Peel Const. Harinder Sohi said the package turned out to be a smoke grenade, a canister-type device that emits smoke and is often used as a signalling device.

The restaurant, along with other retail outlets, is situated on the ground floor of a condo- minium complex.

“Huge police presence here,” condo dweller Will Darling said. “Seems like everything is on lockdown. Big area cordoned off.”

A section of Confederation Parkway was closed for several hours. The area has been deemed safe and there is no threat to public safety, Sohi said.

This incident comes six days after a bomb, believed to have been detonated by two sus- pects, went off in Bombay Bhel restaurant on Hurontario St., leaving 15 people injured.

Sameer Pawa, 20, has been charged with mischief over $5,000 in relation to the Wednesday incident. He was released from custody and will be in Brampton court in June.

Anyone with information can call police at 905-453-2121, ext. 1233 or Peel Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.