The municipal building in the central city of Kensington closed as a caution on Monday night after someone brought a “potentially dangerous object” to the police force based there.
The episode meant that the city’s planned council meeting had to be postponed for a day due to what a publication on social networks called “unforeseen circumstances”, with residents urged to avoid the area.
“The Kensington Police Service is currently managing a potentially dangerous article located within the municipal building”, on the corner of Victoria Avenue East and Woodleight Drive, the force on social networks around 7 pm said.
The same position said the officers blocked access to Woodleight Drive, including a trip on Tim Hortons, while dealing with the situation.
The City Council meeting of 1,800 people will now take place on Tuesday night at 6 pm
Police chief Landon Yuill later told CBC News that a local resident had brought an old mortar, who is believed to be World War II.
He stressed that there was no risk to the public, but the police closed the area as a caution because the mortar could have been a piece of living ammunition.
Yuill said Kensington officials were talking to representatives of the Federal Department of National Defense based in Gagetown, NB, to discover how to handle the object.
On its website, DND has some tips on what to do if it finds “something that seems like an explosive ammunition without explosive”, described as military explosives that did not explode or worked as planned.
- “Do not touch it, move it, throw it or hit it with other objects,” it is the first recommendation, saying that it could kill or hurt someone if it explodes.
- Then, the people who take note of where they saw the object are advised before leaving the location in the same way that they arrived in it, and try to prevent someone else from approaching the object while waiting for help.
- “As soon as possible, call 911 or communicate with the local police,” continues the Post DND. “If you are working on the site, tell your manager what he found, where he found it and what he did.”
