Bomb scare shakes Calgary
CALGARY — A bomb scare that forced thousands of people from the Calgary Courts Centre and surrounding offices caused huge headaches Wednesday, snarling traffic and spilling over to a shopping mall parking lot.
One man is in custody after bringing a bag with a suspicious device through the airport-style security at the court building around 9:30 a.m.
What court sheriffs saw on their Xray screen alarmed them enough to call police and evacuate the downtown building and surrounding offices.
Sources said Wednesday night the item was still being analyzed.
One source said if it isn’t a bomb, it is a realistic enough fake that it would take hours of examination to make that determination.
By the time the police bomb squad removed the questionable package around 1 p.m., the investigation had expanded to a vehicle parked at Marlborough Mall.
Police would only say the man is connected to the vehicle, which they surrounded as a precaution.
Sources said the man was at court for a domestic matter — though one said the suspect isn’t known to police and it’s not believed he was at court for a criminal case, leaving open the possibility he had business in family court or divorce court.
The disruption comes a day after striking prison guards, sheriffs, probation officers and court clerks with the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees ended wildcat strikes.
The man is being co-operative, police said.
“We don’t know a lot about him yet. As far as who he is and what his background is, until we can determine what his package is, we really can’t speculate,” said police spokesman Kevin Brookwell.
The bomb squad was quickly called in to look at a photo of the X-ray as officers cordoned off the area and urged office workers to stay indoors and away from windows.
“There was enough of a concern based on the photo only that the recommendation was for us to evacuate,” Brookwell said.
Thousands of people — including members of the public, court clerks and judges — were ordered out of both Courts Centre towers, at 601 5th St. S.W. Surrounding roads up to two blocks in all directions were shut down, as was public transit in the area. The new two-tower centre, one with 20 storeys and the other with 24 storeys, holds 73 courtrooms.
The incident interrupted or postponed hundreds of cases, though Alberta Justice officials didn’t have a precise number.
The courthouse remained closed for the day as investigators searched the scene.
It’s not known if the man is facing charges because police weren’t able to say what was in the package.
By mid-afternoon, police were surrounding a car linked to the man parked in Marlborough Mall.
Close to 200 vehicles were blocked off at the north end of the mall.
Sgt. Paul Cuthill confirmed police were monitoring a suspicious vehicle connected to the courthouse incident earlier in the day.
Frustrated shoppers waited along the cordoned-off area, many of them trying to organize rides home. Some planned to take public transit or a cab home, while others went back into the mall to shop, hoping to wait it out.