A firework?
On the night of the Toronto Raptor’s historic championship win, the Student Learning Centre was vandalized, according to Ryerson University. The school has an official explanation for the damage — but the man who designed the building isn’t buying it. A police report may hold the answer.
Two sixth floor exterior window panels were damaged during the June 13-14 NBA championship celebrations, said university spokesperson Jessica Leach.
She said Ryerson reported the damage to police, who determined fireworks caused the cracks.
The Ryersonian was unable to confirm this finding with the Toronto Police Service — there was no record of the report number provided by the university.
But police did tell the Ryersonian a man had been shot near the SLC that night. His six alleged assailants are now facing charges. The police report says several shots were fired and multiple guns were seized at the scene.
Mike Smith, the architect who designed the SLC, said he doesn’t believe that fireworks could be responsible for the damage. SLC windows are made from triple-pane, high-energy performance glass — they should easily withstand the impact of any store-bought fireworks, he said.
Smith said a bullet would be able to damage the windows.
Police were not able to confirm whether stray bullets were responsible for the damage. The publication of further case details has been banned by a court order.
Ryerson officials have not returned a request for comment regarding the possibility of a bullet striking the SLC.
The broken windows were discovered July 20. Contractors secured the cracked glass with a protective film, which remained for four days until the glass was replaced, according to Leach.
With files from Eloïse Slater.
Ben Cohen was a news editor at the Ryersonian during the fall 2019 semester. You can follow him on Twitter @cenbrohen