Homemade bomb disrupts transit
‘Extremely dangerous’ device found on SkyTrain track in Surrey
An “extremely dangerous” explosive device planted on SkyTrain tracksinSurreyby awould-bebomber was powerful enough to damage a train, police said Saturday.
Police forces across the Lower Mainland went on high alert Friday evening as Transit Police hunted the perpetrator and conducted sweeps of TransLink’s whole rail system to ensure no more bombs threatened passengers.
Police said the incident was “extremely rare” and, in fact, the first real bomb threat ever to endanger TransLink infrastructure.
“There is no doubt that this was a serious device, although somewhat unsophisticated in nature, and was extremely dangerous,” Transit Police spokeswoman Anne Drennan said Saturday.
In the nervous hours following the threat on Friday night, three false alarms were triggered throughout the rail system as staff raised alerts about objects that were then examined by police and judged not to be explosive.
Another false alarm closed Main Street station for 30 minutes on Saturday afternoon, just hours before thousands were expected downtown for the B.C. Lions game.
The bomb was spotted by a passenger on an elevated SkyTrain track on the approach to Gateway station at 2 p.m. Friday, causing a passenger evacuation and area track shutdown that lasted for hours.
AnRCMPbombsquadapproached the device on a trolley and carted it away in a special bomb-suppression container, to be detonated at a safe location in Surrey.
RCMP explosives experts say the bomb would have blown upwards, and it’s believed that, had it exploded, the concrete and steelreinforced elevated track in the area likely would not have collapsed.
Drennan said police experts are not sure whether the bomb could have exploded in the state it was found, or whether it would have had to been ignited manually or by electronic device.
“There is no doubt that this was a serious device, although somewhat unsophisticated in nature, and was extremely dangerous.”
— ANNE DRENNAN
TRANSIT POLICE SPOKESWOMAN
Police won’t speculate on the potential for fatalities.
It was placed on the guideway beside the train tracks, so would not have been hit by a train, police say.
Police are not ruling out the possibility that the bomb — including three different empty canisters strapped to an explosive device — could have been heaved up to the track, although “that would have taken quite a football arm,” Drennan said.
It’s also possible the would-be bomber could have climbed trees in the area to access the track. There are no video cameras or sensors placed in the area of track, Drennan said.
TransLink is reviewing security measures, but there is no way to guarantee that a bomb won’t ever be placed within the rail system, she said.
After the bomb was confirmed as real Friday, police did a full sweep of the TransLink network including bus loops, stations and SeaBus terminals. Three potential threats were eventually dismissed.
About 7:30 p.m. Friday, Metrotown SkyTrain station was closed after a drainage pipe “with the earmarks of an explosive device,” was found.
The RCMP bomb squad was called in, but the station reopened at around 10:30 p.m. after the parcel was determined not to be an explosive device.
Suspicious items were spotted close to Gilmore and Brentwood stations later that night, and Transit Police responded and determined they were not explosives.
The closure of Main Street station on Saturday occurred after an attendant reported a suspicious package. Transit Police were called in and determined it was a woman’s purse with a watch attached.
Transit Police and other agencies will maintain a high-alert status with both uniformed and undercover officers throughout the rail system Saturday and possibly for longer, as an extensive search for the bombing suspect continues, Drennan said.
Police have no idea about the motivation or identity of the wouldbe bomber and received no notes or demands in connection to the bomb.
Investigators will go door to door in the area of the bomb threat, looking for clues and will complete forensic examinations on the three canisters found strapped to the bomb.
TransLink does regular sweeps of rail networks with a bomb-sniffing dog but hadn’t checked the area of track in Surrey on Friday.
TransLink is reviewing its security measures, but the best defence against bombs is the public vigilance and alertness displayed by the train passenger who spotted the bomb Friday and called a station attendant, Drennan said.
Drennan encouraged riders to report any and all suspicious happenings at stations and on trains.
“The safety of the people who use transit are our No. 1 priority. The site sweeps, checks of every suspicious package is part of ensuring the safety of our riders.
“This is one of those random acts where there is very little you can do (to prevent it),” she added.
“The consequences [for the bombing suspect] will be extremely high,” Drennan said.
Police still had no leads on the suspect late Saturday.