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Bomb scare shuts down Kelowna neighbourhood for hours

Click to play video: 'Bomb scare rattles Kelowna neighbourhood'
Bomb scare rattles Kelowna neighbourhood
Nerves have eased in Kelowna's Springfield Road neighbourhood after a police incident closed roads in the area Monday and the bomb squad was brought in from Vancouver. Cohan Sassaman has more on what police found.

A suspicious object that appeared to be an improvised explosive device brought a Kelowna, B.C., neighbourhood to a standstill Monday, forcing police to close roads for hours while a specialized RCMP bomb squad travelled from Metro Vancouver.

A busy neighbourhood had to work around large shutdown areas for 11 hours, the time between when the call was made and the bomb squad from Vancouver arrived. cohan sassaman

The device was discovered just before 3 p.m. by a landscaping crew near the corner of Barlee and Springfield roads. Kelowna RCMP quickly evacuated the area, closed surrounding streets and requested assistance from the BC RCMP explosives disposal unit.

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Because the RCMP’s only bomb squad serving communities outside the Lower Mainland is based in Metro Vancouver, specialists had to travel to Kelowna before the device could be safely examined, leaving Springfield Road closed well into the evening.

Part of the bomb squad waiting for the situation to be resolved. cohan sassaman

“Everything we’ve heard is that it’s so safe here. Nothing happens,” resident Dia Borromeo said. “We’ve been here for a month, and now there’s a bomb?”

Dia Borromeo and Kate Borromeo, who recently moved to Kelowna. They felt there should have been communication straight from the police; even though they lived in the area, they were left in the dark as to what was going on. Cohan Sassaman

Steven Mac, who lives nearby, said public safety has been an ongoing concern.

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“Our vehicles were getting broken into, and you hear people screaming all night,” he said.

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The road closures were lifted shortly after 11:30 p.m. after the RCMP explosives disposal unit determined the device was inert and posed no risk to the public.

Police have not identified who left the object or what their motivation may have been. Investigators are asking anyone with information about the incident to contact Kelowna RCMP.

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