A man is facing charges after homemade bombs, drugs and multiple firearms were found in southeast Edmonton Tuesday night.
Residents of Mill Woods were forced out of their homes by the discovery of an improvised explosive device (IED) Tuesday. Police said officers ordered people to leave homes within a one-block radius of a home at 20 Avenue and 46 Street while they conducted their investigation.
“There was an investigation that brought us to the address today… at approximately 4 p.m. today,” Insp. Gary Godziuk with the Edmonton Police Service said Tuesday night. “The search warrant that we were conducting discovered a quantity of improvised explosive devices which needed to be dealt with in a safe and reliable manner.
Watch below: A tense situation unfolded in southeast Edmonton Tuesday night as dozens of residents were forced out of their homes after police found improvised explosive devices in A Mill Woods home. Quinn Ohler reports.
Pollard Meadows School was opened up to accept residents who were temporarily told to leave their homes.
A Global News crew at the scene said an explosion could be heard around 9 p.m. and that it appeared to have been caused by the bomb unit destroying or detonating a bomb. Police later confirmed their bomb unit detonated the IEDs.
“Nobody was placed in danger including our members and members of the public,” Godziuk said. “We have predictable measures and training and measures that go behind dealing with this. With that said though, in inexperienced hands or less knowledgeable circumstances, that explosive could be very hazardous.”
Global News’ crew at the scene of a possible bomb discovery in Edmonton’s Mill Woods neighbourhood said an explosion could be heard around 9 p.m. Tuesday and that it appeared to have been caused by the bomb unit destroying or detonating a bomb. However, police had not confirmed what caused the noise.
“Essentially, we had industrial explosives that were being used for a criminal purpose,” he added.
When asked whether the investigation could be tied to a potential terrorist threat, Godziuk said, “Right now, there is no links at all to terrorism – international or domestic.”
Edmonton Fire Rescue Services and EMS were also called to the scene.
According to police, officers began their investigation Tuesday afternoon.
Residents were allowed to return to their homes shortly after 10 p.m. A man in his 30s was taken into custody in connection with the search warrant, and drug and weapon-related charges are pending. Edmonton police said further information would be released later this week or early next week.
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