Hoax improvised explosive device forces downtown Halifax street closures

A suspicious package that was found outside City Hall on Wednesday morning was a fake explosive device that was “designed to come across as threatening,” according to Halifax police.

Officers were called to Grand Parade — in front of City Hall — just before 10 a.m.

There was a large police presence as the area was shut down to pedestrians and vehicles during the busy rush hour.

At around 11:30 a.m., Halifax Regional Police said they had cleared the scene and revealed the package was a “hoax.” They later released an image of a suspect taken from video evidence.

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However, on Thursday, police said they had spoken to the person in the image and while he had “encountered” the package, he was no longer believed to be a suspect.

Police said the package was determined not to pose a risk to the public, but was purposely meant to be threatening.

“Any incidents like this — reports of a suspicious package — can be very disturbing, can be very alarming. They tie up resources. They put fear into the public,” said spokesperson Const. Martin Cromwell.

“So luckily, today’s incident, it was a hoax. However, we take matters like this very seriously.”

He added that while police respond to suspicious package calls “fairly often,” it’s uncommon to find a “hoax improvised device.”

Anyone with information or video from the area is asked to call 902-490-5020.

The investigation is ongoing.