Suspicious package forces evacuation of Dartmouth apartment building

HALIFAX – Residents of a Dartmouth apartment building that was evacuated after a suspicious package have been let back inside.

Just after 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Halifax police received a call about a suspicious package in the stairwell of an apartment building at 7 Parker Street.

“It was a small package, possibly a cell phone connected to another package and there were wires protruding from it,” said Staff Sgt. Bill Morris with Halifax Regional Police.

The nature of the package was enough for police to call the bomb unit in.

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“It was taped to the stairwell so at that point, the safety of the residents of the building and residents of the area are our main concern,” Morris said.

The apartment building was evacuated and about 200 residents were forced to flee.

Edward Murphy tells Global News that he thought there was a fire in the building at first.

“I heard pounding on the door. It’s the police. He said ‘get out now’. I said, ‘I’m not dressed yet’. I got dressed as quickly as I could,” he said.

Murphy said the incident has him asking many questions.

“They said there was a suspicious package. I have no idea how that could have happened.”

Metro Transit buses were brought in to keep residents warm but they did little to keep the worry at bay for some.

Gloria Grace fled her apartment and brought little more than her winter jacket.

“I am scared. I want to be able to go back inside my home,” she said.

“It kinda makes me scared about living here too.”

A bomb technician was sent into the building to inspect the suspicious package.

A robot was also sent into the building and it neutralized the package.

“The robot fired what they called a disrupter at the device,” Morris said.

Police say the device was found not to be explosive.

A K9 unit was used to search the common areas of the building for other suspicious packages.