A 21-year-old suspect identified explosions at Sherwood Park; declaration of family problems

The 21-year-old suspect was identified as Kane Kosolowsky in Tuesday night's parkade explosions at Sherwood Park.

The RCMP said in a press release Thursday afternoon that "it was a singular event."

An autopsy determined that Kosolowsky had died as a result of a gunshot wound.

"No other suspects are wanted," the RCMP said.

Kosolowsky's family issued a statement to the RCMP:

"We, Kane Kosolowsky's family, are shocked and devastated by the unfortunate incident that occurred on November 6, 2018.

"We work in cooperation with the RCMP to provide our badistance at any time to the investigation.

"We are grateful that there was no other person injured in this unexpected incident.

"The events that have unfolded are totally devoid of character for Kane and we hope the authorities will pursue a thorough investigation to provide the answers we all seek. At this moment we are asking for confidentiality. "

READ MORE: A 21-year-old man died after the blast that led the police to a car stuffed with explosives at Sherwood Park

Emergency teams responded to the Strathcona County Community Center at approximately 18:30. Tuesday at reports of a fire. On Wednesday, the RCMP confirmed the existence of two explosions, one before the police were called to the scene and another around 8:15 pm.

Global News has learned that an explosion had led the police to a car filled with explosives and a severely injured man.

Police said the 21-year-old man was in a car in the parking lot shortly after the first bombing. He was found with serious life-threatening injuries and was rushed to hospital where he died later, said the RCMP, adding that his injuries "were not related to police interactions ".

No other injuries have been reported.

The RCMP still speaks very little about the investigation, as schools in the area remained closed Thursday for a second day.

The RCMP announced Thursday that the parking at the Strathcona Community Center "will remain secure by the police", but that the roadblocks surrounding the area will be removed.

"The Explosives Disposal Unit and the RCMP Special Tactical Operations Unit found that the area outside the parking lot was safe. Strathcona County has chosen to keep the community hall closed to the general public for now, "said the RCMP release.

READ MORE: Tannerite would have been found at the scene of the Sherwood Park explosion. What is it?

Security sources told Global News that the explosive found in the car would be tannerite, an explosive used in the practice of target shooting that was found in other bombings and shootings. The police did not confirm the presence of tannerite on the site.

"Additional investigations into the explosions inside the parkade are expected to last several days," the RCMP said.

"The RCMP continues to investigate the reasons for this crime and can say that there was no known threat to nearby schools.

"The RCMP would like to thank the public for its cooperation by preventing the region from giving us room to do our work. We ask the public to refrain from speculating on the incident because we will share the confirmed information, "the press release says.

The Mayor of Strathcona County said the first responders and the county had done everything to keep the public informed.

"If I thought it was taking too much time or people were hanging out on the heels, we would have done it," Mayor Rod Frank told Global News on Thursday.

"That's not how it went."

Frank was at the community center – which also houses the library and the county hall – at the time of the first blast and initially felt that it was a fire call. He learned later on Tuesday night about the explosions, information that was not made public that night or at a press conference Wednesday morning.

READ MORE: Little Details Disclosed as "Fluid Investigation" at Sherwood Park Community Center Continues

Residents and media were only confirmed at 3:30 pm Wednesday – almost 21 hours after the first explosion.

Frank said the disclosure of information was controlled by the police while the investigation was ongoing. Despite the speculation that prevailed on social media, Frank said that it would have been inappropriate to give more information than what the police did.

"I would rather be criticized for getting accurate information slowly than to compromise the investigation, number one or number two, to get wrong information and trying to fix that information is an even more difficult problem," he said. declared.

"That's how it worked and we're behind it."

Nevertheless, he understands citizens' frustration with the delay.

"We are in the middle of a police investigation," said Frank.

"They have to go through it to make sure no other incident can happen, it takes time. You have a lot of resources … it's a three or four story building. You have two levels of parking below, you have other buildings in the vicinity.

"You have to search things and it takes time. Then you have to consider that by looking at the evidence, badyzing it, to make it happen. "

Frank said the county receives daily briefings on this incident.

– With Kendra Slugoski's files, Global News