(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)
January 09, 2014 - 12:34 PM
KAMLOOPS - A local grocery store was evacuated for nearly an hour after a youth decided to ‘joke’ about leaving a bomb in the store, RCMP reported today.
Kamloops RCMP Staff Sgt. Grant Learned said RCMP were called around 10:45 a.m. from a manager of the North Kamloops Safeway.
“There were three youths who had been in the store,” Learned said. “As they were walking out, they had made a comment to an employee that they had left a bomb in the store.”
The RCMP — including a police dog — were dispatched to the scene and the store was immediately evacuated. Meanwhile, police were made aware the trio had boarded a city bus. The bus was subsequently stopped and they were taken into custody.
“They said, ‘No, this was just a joke. This was just a hoax,” Learned said.
Learned said a search of the premises turned up nothing and the store reopened at about 11:30 a.m.
“When we do receive those calls, we have to respond to them as if they’re valid,” Learned said. “‘We always start with the highest level of precaution and then work back from there.”
The youth allegedly responsible could face charges of mischief and providing false information.
“It’s taxation on our resources,” Learned said. “If you even mention or suggest that you have some sort of explosive device with you, that will be taken seriously.”
To contact a reporter for this story, email: jwallace@infotelnews.ca, call: (250) 319-7494 or tweet: @jess__wallace.
News from © iNFOnews, 2014