Party store owner will use ‘underground’ connections to find suspect

         Shawne McKeown

Shawn Hamilton, owner of the Amazing Party Store, Nov. 2, 2011.

The angry owner of a large Etobicoke party store forced to close after explosives were discovered inside his business said people from “the underground” will help find a suspect.

 “I’m going to come after the person that is doing this,” Shawn Hamilton, the owner of the Amazing Party Store near Islington and the Gardiner Expressway, said at a news conference outside his store Wednesday.

“I’ve met a lot of people. I know people that know people and I’ve even been asked by people, so to speak, from the underground that’s going to look for you too.”

When asked to clarify who the “underground” people are, Hamilton said “they’re just people that know people,” and insisted they're not members of organized crime groups.

He also offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. He’s asking for donations to fund that effort.

Police released the store at 923 Oxford St. back to Hamilton Wednesday afternoon after officers and sniffer dogs painstakingly combed the aisles and shelves of the Etobicoke warehouse where seven potentially-deadly devices were found. The rattled owner said staff will survey the damage, hold a meeting, go over the books and then replace Halloween stock with Christmas and New Year supplies. There's no timeline yet on when the store will re-open.

Hamilton, who opened the store 19 years ago, believes the person responsible has come in multiple times to plant the devices. No suspect has been captured on the store’s security video, and no arrests have been made.

He has called this incident an act of “business terrorism” and claims one of his competitors planted the dangerous packages. He believes these devices were meant to scare him and not cause physical harm.

"If this is a personal vendetta against me, come to me. Don't threaten my business or my employees," he said.

The first of seven suspicious packages was discovered Friday inside the large store. The last three devices were found Tuesday.

"The past few days have been, first of all, shocking and then scary and now I'm getting angry," Hamilton said Wednesday morning.

"The police are still investigating so they haven't told me very much. I still haven't gotten my building back."

Investigators said two of the seven packages contained explosives, while the other five posed a serious threat. Police haven’t said what the devices were made of. The bomb squad used robotics to remove some from the store, which were then rendered safe.

The Toronto police organized crime unit is investigating.

“They are active devices. They have the potential to cause serious bodily harm or death or serious property damage so we have to be very careful with these devices and take them apart slowly,” Insp. Gerry Cashman said Tuesday.

“They’re the real deal.”

The store had reopened its doors Monday morning after explosives scares over the weekend but had to close again Monday night after another device was found.

Hamilton said he’s lost about $300,000 in business due to the shut down in the run-up to Halloween. On Monday he announced he was offering 50 per cent off costumes until Nov. 4 to try and make up for lost sales.

The surrounding businesses have also been forced to close for the investigation.

Hamilton said he plans to implement heightened security when he re-opens—"the best money can buy.