WINNIPEG – Members of the legal community are on high alert after an explosion at a Winnipeg law firm injured lawyer Maria Mitousis on Friday.
The 38-year-old woman was working at the Petersen King law office on River Avenue when somehow a bomb went off. She is still in critical condition in hospital.
READ MORE: Lawyer Maria Mitousis injured in explosion at Winnipeg law office
“The most emotionally charged acrimonious cases seem to be those involving divorce, custody battles over children and this woman who was the victim did that kind of work,” said lawyer Jay Prober.
Hours after the explosion, the Manitoba law society sent out a notice to law firms, advising everyone to take extra precaution with packages arriving at their office.
“The message should be that lawyers and people should be cautious not paralyzed with fear,” said lawyer Greg Brodsky.
Brodsky also said he deals with dangerous situations on a regular basis, using security cameras in the office and telling staff to be careful of parcels before opening them.
“It’s distressing when something like this happens,” said Kris Dangerfield of the Manitoba Law Society. “Very alarming when not only are they making threats but they’re acting on them and that’s particularly frightening.”
Crews were also called to 444 St. Mary Ave. in downtown Winnipeg Friday for the report of a suspicious package that was later determined to be unfounded. Law firm Monk Goodwin is located there and disbarred lawyer Barry Gorlick, Mitousis’s boyfriend in 2014.
“Law offices are going to need to create some new protocols… we gets packages delivered every day,” said lawyer Robert Tapper.
Police are still investigating what happened and don’t believe this is a threat to the general public.
No arrests have been made.
There is now a GoFundMe page for Mitousis here.
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