Oakville theatre pulls film screenings after two violent attacks in a week

A movie theatre in Oakville has been the target of a second act of violence believed to be related to the screening of two South Asian films.

Halton police say a suspect fired several shots into the front window of the theatre just before 2 a.m. Thursday.

Following the attacks, Film.ca has decided to cancel South Asian film screenings indefinitely out of “an abundance of caution.”

CEO Jeff Knoll says it’s expected to hurt the theatre financially.

“We’re sadly having to say ‘we’re done,’ until such a point in time where whoever is responsible […] are brought to justice and we can bring some common sense back to this,” Knoll says.

At this point he says he can only speculate why South Asian films are an issue, but believes it has something to do with distribution rights and money.

Knoll says they’ve pulled the screenings of two particular films: ‘Kantara: A Legend, Chapter 1’ and ‘They Call Him OG.’ The second film, he says, is the most controversial and has a massive release in India.

The shooting this week follows an overnight arson attack on the theatre only seven days earlier.

Police say two suspects poured gasoline on the theatre entrance and lit it on fire.

Investigators describe the shooting suspect as a man with dark skin and a heavy build. He was last seen wearing black clothing and a black face mask.

The two suspects in the arson attack were both wearing dark clothing, gloves, and medical masks. Police say one of them is white, and was wearing dark-coloured high-top sneakers. The other was last seen wearing white slip-on sandals and white socks.

Despite the attacks, Film.ca is running movies tonight and all weekend long.

READ MORE: Shots fired at Oakville cinema just one week after arson attack