Halifax’s budget committee meeting was interrupted after a suspicious package was found at Parade Square on March 26.
At first, councillors thought little of the warning about a suspicious package found outside of city hall. That changed after the building was evacuated due to fears that the unknown item was an explosive.
District 9 Coun. Shawn Cleary said at the moment he wasn’t sure whether to consider the situation a real threat.
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“I mean, you’re always hoping that it is a hoax, or, you know, it’s just misplaced baggage,” he said, adding that once they realized it was an intentionally hoaxed device, it “put things in perspective.”
District 2 Coun. David Hendsbee said that in his 30 years on council, there has only been one bomb threat until the most recent incident.
“Protests will occur, but to have something as demonstrative as this with regards to a bomb being a hoax or real, it is disturbing,” he said.
Police released a photo of a possible suspect on Wednesday, but the following day they issued an update saying the man pictured was identified and not involved in the incident.
Cleary says council will now look over safety measures at City Hall to see if any changes are necessary following this incident.
For more on this story, watch the video above.