Police are investigating two more screen slashing incidents in Halton and Waterloo regions, both connected with a similar occurrence in Oakville last week.
A police spokesperson says that the theatres may have been “targeted” because each were playing an Indian action drama film titled “Bheemla Nayak.”
Initially, Halton Regional Police (HRPS) revealed cut screens at Film.Ca Cinemas on Speers Road in Oakville in which two males brazenly slashed them in a pair of auditoriums on Feb. 23.
Investigators say they have become aware of two more similar occurrences in Burlington and another in Waterloo on the same day by the same suspects.
“Shortly after 5 p.m. two suspects entered a theatre on Brant Street in Burlington and significantly damaged 3 theatre screens with a sharp object,” HRPS said in a follow-up release on Monday.
“After 7 p.m. on the same date, the same two suspects attended a theatre located on King Street North in Waterloo and damaged a single screen.”
Investigators say they are also probing historical events with similar circumstances in 2020 and 2021 that occurred in Oakville and throughout the GTA.
Film.Ca Cinemas in Oakville shared a security video post of that incident last Wednesday on YouTube in hope of aiding an arrest and “humiliation” of the culprits.
It showed one person dragging a sharp object across the bottom of a projection screen while the other suspect recorded the incident on a mobile phone.
“The two males entered the theatre and proceeded to slash two cinema screens, total value approximately $4,500,” Cst. Steve Elms told Global News.
Some residents have begun a GoFundMe campaign in the hopes of recovering costs for the lost screens in Oakville.
Halton police did not release any description of the suspects in accordance with the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
However Waterloo police did, saying suspect one was about 20 years old and six feet tall with a heavy build. The other described as being around five feet nine inches tall with a slim build.
Both wore hoodies — one red and one blue.
Elms says anyone with information can reach out directly to Halton police.