48-year-old arrested after Friday night bomb scare

An explosives scare on Friday night landed a 48-year-old man in custody and forced the evacuation of residents from a pair of Mary Street residences.

Police spokesman Chris Adams, in a release issued late Friday night, said police were called to the home, in the 1300 block of Mary Street, after receiving a call at about 6:30 p.m. complaining about a man acting erratically in the nearby area.

Upon learning the man lived in a nearby Mary Street home, which backs onto St. Ann School property, police decided to investigate the residence in question.

“Officers entered the man’s home to discover what appeared to be a number of explosive devices and potentially flammable liquids,” Adams said in the release. “It was determined that the home needed to be cleared of these hazards.”

OPP Const. Wendell Brown, who did not want to speak to the overall incident, did say the OPP’s explosive disposal unit was called in to assist in the investigation.

He added a heavily fortified officer was sent into the home on numerous occasions as a precautionary measure.

“It’s a Kevlar explosive disposal suit. Again, that’s for a safety precaution in dealing with items of concern to us,” Brown said, adding the EDU plans to properly dispose of the material seized from the home.

Police blocked off a section of Mary Street, between Georgina Avenue and Holt Place, rerouting traffic to other streets. A handful of neighbours watched from behind police lines, with several in nearby houses keeping tabs from their living room windows.

A woman who has worked nearby for three years said the Westfort neighbourhood is a relatively quiet one and that she’s never heard a peep from anyone in the suspect’s home, which Friday night was ringed in yellow police tape.

Another passerby, who did not give his name, said he saw a man being taken away into custody.

According to the police release, the suspect, who has not been named, has been taken to Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre for assessment. The investigation into the explosive devices is now being looked into by the TBPS’s criminal investigation branch.

Police have since reopened Mary Street and returned the evacuated residents to their homes.