Police detonate 'incendiary device' from stopped car's trunk

Police have detonated an "incendiary device" on a downtown Toronto street after officers found it in the trunk of a car this morning.

The device, contained in a dark duffel bag, was detonated at about 7:45 a.m. ET Tuesday.

The blast charred the sidewalk and rattled windows throughout what is usually a busy intersection in the city's downtown core. 

"It would have caused a lot of damage," if used as planned Toronto police Sgt. Jeff Zammit told CBC News. 

Officers from the city's Emergency Task Force were called to the intersection of King Street West and Blue Jays Way after a white, four-door Honda Civic was stopped by police at about 3:30 a.m. Two men were taken into custody. Police say they are preparing to lay charges. 

Two bomb-disposal robots were sent in to investigate the trunk, and a duffel bag inside that police deemed suspicious. 

The stop was part of an ongoing investigation into a recent string of overnight arsons in the city's downtown core. 

"We've had an ongoing investigation for the past several weeks in 14 and 52 Division, in regards to some buildings in the entertainment district area that we've had a few arsons at," said Zammit. 

The intersection remained closed for much of the morning but had reopened by midday. 

In the past two months, police say there have been a few unsolved arson cases.

Three separate deliberately set fires occurred on Nov. 12, 13 and 16 on different floors of a high-rise building on Shuter Street.

And on Sept. 30 there was a fire set deliberately at Lamport Stadium where a gas container was found.