Nanaimo RCMP blocked exits to the Real Canadian Superstore location on Metral Dr. late Wednesday evening. (submitted photo)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

HEAVY RESPONSE

VIDEO: Police block entrances to Nanaimo Superstore after unspecified threat

Sep 29, 2022 | 9:04 AM

NANAIMO — A threat shut down a large Nanaimo grocery store, sending shoppers and staff out of the north end business.

Officers were called to the north Nanaimo store on Metral Dr. on Wednesday, Sept. 28 at around 8:20 p.m. after an unspecified threat was phoned in.

Reserve Cst. Gary O’Brien said the threat was made to the manager, who then alerted police.

“We decided it was in the best interests of everybody including the store, the infrastructure and the customers to close it. Our members attended…searched with a police dog in the interior of the building and searched the parking lot as well.”

Nanaimo Fire Rescue and BC Ambulance Service staff were on standby, but ultimately nothing was found.

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Emergency vehicles blocked entrances to the store while police carried out their investigation.

By the time police wrapped their work, the usual closing time of 10 p.m. had come and gone, so the store remained closed with only staff allowed back in to collect their belongings.

The store re-opened as normal Thursday morning.

O’Brien told NanaimoNewsNOW these situations are extremely serious and treated as such despite frequently being false alarms.

“It’s probably a false situation however we treat them as real. That’s a huge building with a large infrastructure and it required a lot of resources tied up for several hours.”

If anyone has any information on the incident, they’re asked to contact Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754-2345, quoting file number 2022-34406.

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