Man in custody in connection with Winnipeg law office bombing

Winnipeg Police have taken a man into custody in connection with the bombing of a law office that seriously injured a woman on Friday.

Police said in a statement they took a 49-year-old man into custody for questioning on Saturday evening but haven’t laid any charges.

Maria Mitousis, 38, who specializes in family law, was seriously injured Friday morning by a suspected explosive device that was sent to the Petersen King law firm where she worked in the city’s Fort Rouge neighbourhood.

READ MORE: Winnipeg law community reacts to office explosion

On Saturday at 2 p.m., Winnipeg police’s bomb unit was dispatched to a property on Washington Avenue following reports of a suspicious package. Police located the package, which contained “unknown material.”

At about 10:40 p.m., the police bomb unit detonated the device. No one was injured during the detonation; however there was extensive damage to the business.

VIDEO GALLERY:

Superintendent Danny Smyth of the Winnipeg Police Service said the incident is connected to the bombing of that severly injured Mitousis.

“I know (investigators) have made a solid link … but I’m really not prepared to get into that detail right now,” Smyth told reporters Sunday.

Mitousis was transported to hospital in critical condition where she now remains in stable condition. A source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told The Canadian Press the 38-year-old had lost a hand and was in danger of losing the other one.

Colleagues of Mitousis have setup a crowdfunding page which had raised more than $15,000 in just over 24 hours.

“Manitobans have always banded together to support each other in times of crisis,” Harris and Potter said. “We invite the legal community and the community at large to work with us to offer Maria continued support as she recovers from this horrific and life-altering event.”

PHOTOS: Images from the scene of Friday’s explosion

The bomb unit was deployed again on Sunday afternoon to a business on Springfield Road and a residence on Pandora Avenue.

Some residents around the Pandora Avenue location have been evacuated as a precaution and public movement is being restricted at the Springfield Road location.

Police have said throughout the investigation that the bombing was an isolated incident that does not pose a threat to the general public.

*With files from the Canadian Press