Whitehorse RCMP explain response to suspicious package at CIBC
Whitehorse RCMP won't tell what was found in a downtown bank on Friday, saying they're still investigating the origin of the suspicious package.
The package was found in the lobby of the CIBC branch Friday morning, prompting police to close several downtown blocks and deploy the RCMP Explosives Disposal Unit. Some nearby buildings were also evacuated.
Police said the mystery package was found at about 7:30 a.m. that day. The bank was closed, but it was several hours before police decided to step up their response and block off the downtown.
"Once we reached the point at approximately 11:45 [a.m.] where we could not explain how that package came to be, at that point I took the decision to close certain streets in the downtown area as a precaution," said RCMP Inspector Archie Thompson.
It then took a couple of hours for police to declare the object "not a threat to public safety" and re-open the area.
Thompson estimates there were about 30 to 40 RCMP officers involved in the operation on Friday afternoon, plus other city emergency officials.
"If there's any threat at all to public safety, I have to err on the side of caution," Thompson said.
"I think we did reasonably well."
