Calgary police say that a package that was removed from a screening device at the Calgary Courts Centre on Wednesday did not contain explosives.
The Calgary Courts Centre at 601 5 Street S.W. was shut down after a suspicious package was reported by sheriffs to city police.
The package was found after a man put a bag through the screening machine at the courthouse.
Sheriffs thought the item looked unusual enough to send a photo to police for a threat evaluation.
The Tactical Unit determined that the content of the package warranted the evacuation of the building and police set up barriers to cordon off the area.
“The system worked, We have a sheriff whose job it is too look at items so that they don’t get past that security check point, recognize something suspicious, makes those cursory questions, follows up with the proper response to call the police and then, like I say, the protocols that were followed with response to something like this, the national standard, were really rolled out,” said CPS Spokesperson Kevin Brookwell.
The police robot was used to remove the package from the screening device and take it to a containment vessel outside. The container was then transported to a safe site where the package was neutralized.
Police say that the device did not contain any known explosives.
“I think if there’s one thing that we have learned through our policing partners and incidents that have happened around the world, it’s not uncommon for dry runs or test runs to be done. Not saying this is the case and in fact it may not be, it may in fact be a hoax, but certainly this wouldn’t be uncommon and that’s why we have to treat it serious and we continue to treat it serious even though we found through disruption that there was no explosives and we haven’t found anything up to this point,” said Brookwell.
The man who they believe put the package in the screening machine was detained for questioning and has since been released.
“At the conclusion of our interview attempts throughout the night, it was determined that we didn’t have grounds to detain him any longer so he was subsequently released,” said Brookwell.
Four extra courtrooms were opened to deal with the backlog of cases from the closure and Crown Prosecutor, Lloyd Robertson says the system worked very well.
"We have extra courtrooms open today for people who didn't have a chance to appear through no fault of their own. The courts are processing those people right now and it's being done very efficiently. The system worked very well."
A second scene, in a parking lot at Marlborough Mall, was also being investigated on Wednesday night.
Police sealed off a section of the mall’s parking lot for several hours but in the end determined that there was no evidence of explosives in the area.
(With files from Rylee Carlson)
