An alert employee at the Silver City Theatre in Saanich observed what appeared to be a possible explosive device near the theatre shortly after 10 a.m. on January 24, 2013.
The employee notified the Saanich Police Department of the suspicious device, described as a “pipe bomb”, outside of the business. Police responded to and cordoned off the area to prevent any risk to the public.
A member of the Forensic Identification Section who is trained in explosive device investigations was summoned to the scene. It was determined that the device had already been detonated, and had resulted in no damage to the building. Examination of the device revealed that it would have posed a minimal risk to the public. It was located in an area that was away from where patrons of the theatre would have frequented.
Given the location of the device, police are unable to determine how long that it may have been since the device had been detonated. There were no witnesses that observed any suspcicious activity.
The theatre had not yet opened for the day and the matter was responded to in a swift fashion, minimising the impact on the business.
Police would like to remind members of the public of the potential risk that improvised explosive devices can pose. Should anyone locate a device, they are asked to avoid touching the device, and to contact police.