A roller coaster of emotions was felt in the quiet community of Tottenham on Friday after a suspicious package was found near train tracks.
“As soon as I walked out and saw the officer there, there’s not much where there is officer presence here so that was my first cause for concern,” said Tottenham resident Tonya Publow.
On Thursday night just after 7:30 p.m., OPP got a tip about a suspicious package left on the ground not far from railroad tracks that cross the 5th Line, west of Queen Street and north of O’Leary Court.
Nearby residents were told to stay inside their homes while police brought in teams to deal with what looked like a homemade explosive device.
“The fact that it was close to the rail line, the fact that it’s in a small community such as Tottenham, close to residential area – we took all the necessary steps with fire, ambulance on standby and set-up a safe perimeter,” said OPP Constable Tracy Bednarczyk.
Police used a robot to determine the package was not a threat and removed it safely around 1:30 a.m. Friday morning.
Police are not saying if the device was detonated on scene or give any clues about what the package looked like because of the ongoing investigation.
The area the package was located is private property and the tracks are used by the South Simcoe Railway.
“There are no trespassing signs that are posted and the fence is constantly being prepared but it is an ongoing issue and the police are aware of it and we are going to be stepping up our patrol in the area for sure,” adds Constable Bednarczyk.
The remains of the package are being testing to determine what was inside the package.
Police are continuing their investigation and are asking anyone with information to come forward.
