Richmond RCMP evacuated occupants of an apartment building and cordoned off an area along No. 1 Road north from Blundell Road Monday afternoon following the discovery of what turned out to be an unarmed, improvised explosive device inside a vehicle in the building's ground floor garage.
According to Acting Cpl. Dennis Hwang, police received a call around 12:40 p.m. from a resident in the area saying they spotted a suspicious car in the neighbourhood.
When police arrived at the scene in the 7800-block of No. 1 Road they discovered a “suspicious” item in the vehicle, Hwang said.
Richmond Fire Rescue and B.C. Ambulance personnel were standing by on the perimeter of the scene at No. 1 Road and Blundell Road.
During an examination by the RCMP's bomb disposal personnel the IED was the found not to contain any explosive material.
A resident of the area called the News to say he/she had heard two loud bangs — one at around 4 p.m., and the second half an hour later.
Hwang said those noises were related to the efforts by the bomb disposal team to render the IED inert.
The vehicle containing the IED is now in police custody and is undergoing forensic exmination as part of a continuing investigation.
Traffic in the area during the incident was heavy as the tip of the afternoon rush had to be diverted around the cordoned off scene.
Tip of the forge cap to #BCRCMP Explosives Disposal Unit pic.twitter.com/hXv8FF5BiR
— Richmond RCMP (@RichmondRCMP) March 10, 2015
