Downtown Kamloops evacuated over suspicious objects

[Bouncing Bettys]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/suspicious-...stigation.html

Dozens of homes and businesses in Kamloops, B.C., have been evacuated as police investigate three suspicious objects found near a downtown building on Saturday morning.

Mounties have found what they call three "items of concern" near the Scotiabank building at 3rd Avenue and Victoria Street — one of which is believed to be leaning against a natural gas meter.

RCMP Const. Rose Dunsmore said the Vancouver Police Department's bomb squad is flying to Kamloops to assist in the investigation.

Dunsmore said police have cordoned off and evacuated a three-block radius, from 1st Avenue to 3rd avenue and Landsdowne to Seymour streets.

"We do have Terasen [a natural gas distributor in B.C.] gas [officials] on scene as well. They have managed to shut off gas to that particular building and we're still looking at making sure that area stays clear of any kind of public individuals here," she said.

"We want to make sure everyone just stays out of that area in the interest of public safety."

The general public is advised to avoid the area until police determine whether any of the packages pose a threat.

Dunsmore said one long, closed-off pipe was found leaning against the building's gas meter. In the immediate vicinity, police also found a case with wires coming out of it and another carrying case.

Kamloops is in B.C.'s southern Interior, about 250 kilometres northeast of Vancouver.

I heard about this on the way to see Narnia. I hadn't noticed much activity or heard anything new.

[InvisibleSoul]

The suspicious package found on a downtown Kamloops sidewalk that forced police to evacuate a six-block section of the city centre yesterday (Dec. 11) turned out to be harmless.

Kamloops RCMP Const. Rose Dunsmore said the package, located at the corner of Third Avenue and Victoria Street, turned out to be "a fake explosive device."

Police had earlier described the package as "an inactive improvised explosive device."

Kamloops Mounties were first alerted to the package just after 10 a.m.

The package, outside the Scotiabank building, resembled a yellow tool case and was sitting on a sidewalk next to a mail box.

A second package — a long metal pipe leaning up against a natural gas main — was found in a nearby alley, as was what is believed to be a rifle case.

Police initially cordoned off the area between First and Third avenues and Lansdowne and Seymour streets, but later expanded that area east to Fourth Avenue.

A police bomb squad from the Lower Mainland was called in and arrived in Kamloops at about 2:30 p.m.

The squad worked for two-and-a-half hours before declaring the packages harmless.

Just before 5 p.m., police rescinded the evacuation order and employees, patrons and residents were allowed back into buildings in the affected area.

Dunsmore said police are continuing to investigate the incident, and trying to determine what, if any, link the packages and the rifle case had.

More information will likely be released at a press conference on Monday morning.

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