Thunder Bay Court House Incident Now a Police Investigation

THUNDER BAY – Thunder Bay Fire Rescue’s Hazardous Materials team removed a suspicious package from the Thunder Bay Court House Saturday afternoon.

The incident resulted in much of downtown Fort William including Victoraville Centre being closed as a precaution. Brodie Street was closed from Miles to Victoria. The incident shutting down the Victoriaville Centre impacted the Aboriginal Art Show that was going on inside the facility.

The package has been turned over to Thunder Bay Police.

The incident started around noon, Police and Fire Fighters moved in and cleared the area.

The suspicious package, which was treated with all seriousness was removed just after 3:00PM EDT.

The Thunder Bay Court House was built with a number of security features. All people entering the court house go through a security check similar to at an airport.

Around the court house are ‘Dragon’s Teeth’ which are designed to prevent a vehicle from breaking through to the building.

There are also security cameras out front and throughout the court house.

Thunder Bay Fire Rescue, in performing the Hazardous Materials removal of the package were following a very set protocol that is required to ensure maximum safety of the crews.

Onlookers including media were kept away, and kept upwind of the scene.

The incident is now part of a Thunder Bay Police Investigation.