Hamilton police evacuated an area around ‘The Centre on Barton’ shopping mall on Monday after discovering an unknown package in the parking lot just off of Barton Street.
Const. Jerome Stewart told Global News a ‘suspicious package’ call came in from 1187 Barton Street East at 8:54 a.m., an area occupied by Meridian Credit Union, The Source and Bulk Barn.
After several hours, tactical teams deemed the package to be safe. No one was injured during the incident.
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As a precaution, nearby businesses were evacuated for just over 3 hours with Barton Street East being closed between Ottawa Street North and Kenilworth Avenue North.
Stewart said the package was discovered by a member of the public who thought it appeared to be suspicious in nature which is why they contacted police.
“Uniform patrol officers, the Emergency Response Unit and K9 officers attended and through investigation determined the item was not dangerous to the public and it was rendered safe shortly after 12:00 p.m.”
Police say no local businesses were targeted nor were any threats received in relation to the incident.