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Extremely dangerous' stunt jeopardized staff and marine animals, police say.
A man who swam naked among sharks at Ripley's Aquarium of Canada in downtown Toronto late Friday is wanted in a violent assault earlier in the evening, police say.
Spokesperson Katrina Arrogante said investigators from the city's west-end 14 Division and the downtown 52 Division connected the incidents on Monday through evidence and the clothing he was seen wearing.
The assault took place outside Medieval Times at Exhibition Place around 8 p.m. ET Friday, police said, and the victim suffered serious injuries. It's believed the suspect fled and headed to the aquarium, around five kilometres east. Officers were called to the popular tourist attraction two hours later.
One minute-long video posted on YouTube shows a man taking off his clothes and diving into the Dangerous Lagoon, a 2.9-million-litre tank that offers an underwater gallery to dozens of marine animals, including 17 sharks.
The naked man can be seen doing the breaststroke on the surface of the water while sand tiger sharks swim within centimetres of his feet. Green sawfish, green sea turtles, green moray eels and other species of tropical fish are also housed in the tank, according to the aquarium's website.
Security at the popular tourist attraction asked the man to leave shortly before 10:30 p.m. ET but he refused, said Jenifferjit Sidhu, a spokesperson for Toronto Police Service.
Instead, he swam to the edge of the enclosure and emerged from the tank before doing a backward flip into the water, she told CBC Toronto on Monday.